Bray Island DEW Line Station

The station and its airstrip were closed as part of the strategic and technological transition from the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line to the North Warning System (NWS) at the end of the Cold War. The original manpower-intensive DEW Line technology became obsolete. Bray Island was not selected for an upgrade to a modern Long-Range Radar (LRR) site; instead, a new, smaller, automated Short-Range Radar (SRR) site (BAF-4A) was constructed nearby, making the large original base and its airstrip redundant.

The site is closed, abandoned, and unmaintained. Following its decommissioning, the original FOX-A station underwent extensive environmental cleanup and remediation under the Canadian government's DEW Line Cleanup Project to remove hazardous materials (like PCBs, fuel contaminants, and asbestos) and demolish abandoned structures. The site has been returned to a near-natural state. The airstrip is no longer operational and is likely in a state of disrepair. The nearby North Warning System site (BAF-4A) that replaced it is an unmanned, automated facility requiring only periodic maintenance, typically accessed by helicopter.

Bray Island DEW Line Station, designated 'FOX-A', was a Main Station in the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line. Constructed in the 1950s, it was a critical component of North American Cold War air defense, designed to provide early warning of a potential Soviet bomber attack over the Arctic. As a Main Station, it was larger and better-equipped than auxiliary sites. The 5,000-foot gravel airstrip was its lifeline, essential for construction and for the continuous resupply of fuel, food, and equipment, as well as for personnel rotation. It regularly handled large military transport aircraft like the C-130 Hercules, supporting the 24/7 operations of the radar and communications facility.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the Bray Island airstrip. The military need for the facility was rendered obsolete by the automated North Warning System. Its extreme remote location, the high cost of maintaining infrastructure in the Arctic, and the lack of any local population or economic driver (such as mining or tourism) make its reactivation economically and logistically unfeasible.