Leitrim ops building plans posted online

Detailed architectural drawings of the operations building at CFS Leitrim have been posted online as part of a tender for renovation work, the Ottawa Citizen reports (Ian MacLeod, "Government Posts Schematic Diagrams of Canadian Military Spy Operations Centre On The Internet," Ottawa Citizen, 6 February 2014):

The drawings are attached to a Public Works tender issued Wednesday for a renovation fit-up of the ops room, the heart of Canadian Forces Station Leitrim, the country’s oldest signals intelligence listening post targeting foreign electronic communications. ...

The fit-up plans show not only the location of the ops room within the main building, but the number and arrangement of desks, computer screens, specifications of the voice data power system, a reflected ceiling plan, electrical and mechanical requirements and more.

[Update 1:00 pm: The documents are no longer available: Ian MacLeod, "Diagrams of top-secret Leitrim spy centre yanked from Canadian government website," Ottawa Citizen, 7 February 2014.]

[Update 11 February 2014: The drawings have now been placed back online. Ian MacLeod has the story: "Spy station renovation project cancelled, then reposted online," Ottawa Citizen, 11 February 2014.]

The main Leitrim Operations Building was completed in 1995. According to figures published at the time, the building totals 6890 square metres, including a 3430 square metre shielded area, which would contain the operations room. In addition to the operations area, the building contains offices, workshops, a technical maintenance section, and mechanical rooms (electrical room, UPS room, generator room, chiller room, etc.).

An older operations building, built in 1969, is attached to the newer building (the rectangular space at top right of the diagram).

This is not the first time surprisingly detailed information about CFS Leitrim has been published online. In 1997, DND posted a report and annexes listing the titles and locations of all 768 Communicator Research trade positions in the CF Supplementary Radio System as of 1 November 1996, including all 313 positions then at Leitrim.

The subsequent completion of the project to convert the SIGINT sites at Alert, Gander, and Masset to remote operations and the transfer of CFIOG headquarters to Leitrim have led to significant growth at the station, with the military population (all trades) at the station probably now exceeding 500.

Update 11 February 2014: The changes to the operations room could be part of, or related to, the upgrade in CFIOG SIGINT capabilities currently underway under Project SPRINGTHAW.