Ross Point DEW Line Station

The closure was a direct result of military and technological evolution at the end of the Cold War. The Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, with its 1950s-era technology, became obsolete. It was designed to detect Soviet bombers, but the primary threat had shifted to Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) and cruise missiles. The DEW Line was replaced by the more advanced and largely automated North Warning System (NWS). Ross Point (CAM-3) was an Intermediate Station and was not selected for an upgrade to a new NWS Long-Range Radar site. Consequently, it was decommissioned along with most other DEW Line stations.

The site is abandoned and has undergone extensive environmental remediation. Following its closure, the station, like other DEW Line sites, was found to be heavily contaminated with hazardous materials such as PCBs, lead, asbestos, and petroleum products. The Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) undertook a massive, multi-year project called the 'DEW Line Clean-Up' to remediate these sites. The buildings at Ross Point have been demolished, hazardous waste has been removed, and the land has been restored to the extent possible. Satellite imagery shows the clear outline of the former gravel airstrip and building foundations, but the site is now an uninhabited and unmaintained relic on the tundra.

Ross Point DEW Line Station, also known by its military designator CAM-3, was a critical component of the Cold War's continental air defense system. As an Intermediate Station in the Cambridge Bay sector of the DEW Line, its primary purpose was to fill the radar coverage gap between the larger Main Stations. It used a specific type of Doppler radar (AN/FPS-23) to detect low-flying aircraft that might evade the main search radars. The station was part of a massive joint US-Canadian effort under NORAD to provide early warning of a potential Soviet air attack over the Arctic. The gravel airstrip, identified by the unofficial ICAO code CA-0317, was vital for its existence. It handled logistical flights, primarily by ski-equipped or tundra tire-equipped aircraft like the Douglas C-47/DC-3, C-123 Provider, or de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, which brought in personnel, fuel, food, and equipment to this extremely remote location.

There are no known plans or logical prospects for reopening the airport. The original military purpose for the site is obsolete. Its extreme remoteness, lack of any nearby population or economic activity (such as mining), and the immense cost of maintaining an airstrip and facilities in the high Arctic make any civilian or commercial reactivation economically unfeasible. The airstrip is unmaintained and would require a complete reconstruction to be considered safe for any regular aviation use.