HIPAR (high-power acquisition radar)

HIPAR stands for high-power acquisition radar. It is NATO military terminology, recorded in the NATO glossary of acronyms and abbreviations (AAP-15), where the expansion appears alongside its French equivalent, radar d'acquisition de grande puissance. The glossary entry is published in AAP-15 (2013 edition).

The same glossary associates HIPAR with the NATO Air Defence Systems Group (NASG). That link places the term in the air defence part of NATO's work. For a Canadian supplier, HIPAR is best read as an alliance-level label for a class of radar, not as a Canadian program name or a federal tender category.

How NATO records the HIPAR acronym

NATO publishes its acronyms in a bilingual glossary, so each English term is paired with a French equivalent. For HIPAR, the English form is high-power acquisition radar and the French form is radar d'acquisition de grande puissance. Canadian bid teams working in both official languages can use these two forms when reading NATO documents.

• English expansion: high-power acquisition radar.
• French equivalent: radar d'acquisition de grande puissance.
• Associated body: the NATO Air Defence Systems Group (NASG).

NATO also maintains NATOTerm, which it describes as its official terminology database for non-classified military and relevant non-military terminology. It is the reference point for checking how NATO words its terms.

HIPAR and Canadian defence radar projects

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) lists a tactical control radar replacement activity on its electronics page. The radars being replaced are located in Cold Lake, Alberta, and Bagotville, Quebec. Details are on the PSPC electronics page.

That page names the activity as tactical control radar replacement. It does not use the label HIPAR, so the two should not be treated as the same thing. Bid teams that see HIPAR in NATO material should keep it separate from the Canadian project names PSPC uses.

National Defence also publishes a procurement page for companies, information for companies, which is the starting point for firms new to defence work.

Where radar opportunities are published

Federal tender opportunities are posted on CanadaBuys. Contract and award information is available through the CanadaBuys procurement and contracting data page, and the platform also explains how to search award notices and contract history.

CanadaBuys also states that the NATO Support and Procurement Agency buys goods and services on behalf of NATO nations, and that Canadian businesses can bid on many of those opportunities. Its guide on how to find tender opportunities covers that route. Because HIPAR is a NATO term, NATO-linked notices are a natural place for a supplier to watch for it.

What HIPAR means for a supplier bidding in Canada

Treat HIPAR as a NATO term that expands to high-power acquisition radar. When it appears in a solicitation, the requirements of that solicitation govern: the technical specifications, security requirements, qualification conditions and submission instructions.

• Search CanadaBuys using both the acronym and the full English and French expansions.
• Read the solicitation documents for the technical and security requirements of that specific notice.
• Check NATO Support and Procurement Agency opportunities listed through CanadaBuys.