"American Flowers"
Look at this project: the "Golden Dome." It’s this massive, multi-billion dollar missile shield designed to protect North America from incoming threats. And while the rhetoric coming out of Washington is all about "America First," the reality on the ground—and in space—is a bit different.
The US might say they're going it alone, but when they actually need the tech to stop a missile, they’re looking at a company in Brampton, Ontario. MDA Space has just been selected for the SHIELD program, part of a massive contract with a ceiling value of $151 billion.
Our engineers are the ones providing the "eyes" for this system—the sensors and digital engineering that make the whole thing work. Even when the loudest voices in the room say they don't need help, it turns out they still rely on world-class Canadian expertise when the stakes are this high. It's getting pretty tense in the North lately. NATO is currently in the middle of some high-level discussions about sending a military force to Greenland to keep "you-know-who" from making any unannounced moves. While the diplomats are trying to play it cool by calling the potential deployment "business as usual," it's pretty clear to everyone watching that it's anything but a routine mission.
The plan involves military chiefs from the UK, Germany, and France working together to draw up scenarios for deploying troops, warships, and aircraft to the island. The goal is to show that Europe and NATO have the Arctic's security completely under control, which helps take the wind out of any arguments for a foreign takeover.
It's a bit of a sad and scary time when allies have to start positioning forces just to make sure borders are respected, but that is the reality of the High North right now. Our partners in Denmark and Greenland have been very clear that their future is theirs alone to decide, and it’s good to see other nations stepping up to back that sovereignty.It’s a pretty grim sight when you see it up close. The US left the Bluie East Two military base back in 1947, and they basically just walked away from everything. We're talking buildings, old vehicles, and roughly 200,000 fuel barrels that have been sitting there rusting for decades.
The local folks in Greenland have a nickname for it—they call the rusted remains "American Flowers" because they look like orange patches on the landscape from a distance. But up close, it’s a total environmental nightmare. Those barrels have been leaking fuel and the old buildings are full of asbestos, all polluting a place that’s supposed to be one of the most pristine on the planet.
For a long time, nobody wanted to take responsibility for the mess. It wasn't until 2019 that a cleanup finally got started under a deal between Denmark and Greenland. It's a massive job that'll take years because they can only work during the short summer months, but it’s a necessary step to stop the pollution from spreading further into the Arctic.
The US might say they're going it alone, but when they actually need the tech to stop a missile, they’re looking at a company in Brampton, Ontario. MDA Space has just been selected for the SHIELD program, part of a massive contract with a ceiling value of $151 billion.
Our engineers are the ones providing the "eyes" for this system—the sensors and digital engineering that make the whole thing work. Even when the loudest voices in the room say they don't need help, it turns out they still rely on world-class Canadian expertise when the stakes are this high. It's getting pretty tense in the North lately. NATO is currently in the middle of some high-level discussions about sending a military force to Greenland to keep "you-know-who" from making any unannounced moves. While the diplomats are trying to play it cool by calling the potential deployment "business as usual," it's pretty clear to everyone watching that it's anything but a routine mission.
The plan involves military chiefs from the UK, Germany, and France working together to draw up scenarios for deploying troops, warships, and aircraft to the island. The goal is to show that Europe and NATO have the Arctic's security completely under control, which helps take the wind out of any arguments for a foreign takeover.
It's a bit of a sad and scary time when allies have to start positioning forces just to make sure borders are respected, but that is the reality of the High North right now. Our partners in Denmark and Greenland have been very clear that their future is theirs alone to decide, and it’s good to see other nations stepping up to back that sovereignty.It’s a pretty grim sight when you see it up close. The US left the Bluie East Two military base back in 1947, and they basically just walked away from everything. We're talking buildings, old vehicles, and roughly 200,000 fuel barrels that have been sitting there rusting for decades.
The local folks in Greenland have a nickname for it—they call the rusted remains "American Flowers" because they look like orange patches on the landscape from a distance. But up close, it’s a total environmental nightmare. Those barrels have been leaking fuel and the old buildings are full of asbestos, all polluting a place that’s supposed to be one of the most pristine on the planet.
For a long time, nobody wanted to take responsibility for the mess. It wasn't until 2019 that a cleanup finally got started under a deal between Denmark and Greenland. It's a massive job that'll take years because they can only work during the short summer months, but it’s a necessary step to stop the pollution from spreading further into the Arctic.
