Distant Early Warning Line

The Distant Early Warning Line, known as the DEW Line, was a system of radar stations built across the northern Arctic region of Canada, the north coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland, to detect incoming Soviet bombers during the Cold War and give early warning of an attack. It was the northernmost and most capable of three radar lines in Canada and Alaska, built after the earlier Pinetree Line and Mid-Canada Line were judged insufficient to give commanders enough warning time or enough information about an approaching attack. Construction began in 1954 and the sixty three station line reached operational status in 1957, built at high national priority using a large seasonal shipping operation to reach remote sites. In 1985 the United States and Canada agreed to replace the DEW Line with the North Warning System, and the handover was completed in 1993.