UNCREWED SYSTEMS REPORT: A Brave Uncrewed World
The world is turning to uncrewed systems in the air, on land, and at sea — and Canadian companies are leading the way in innovation, manufacturing, and execution. Here is our annual report on the companies and procurements driving Canada’s uncrewed systems market.
BY JAMES CARELESS
Anyone who has been watching the war in Ukraine knows how pivotal uncrewed systems have become on the modern battlefield; just as aeroplanes transformed the nature of military conflict when they started being deployed in World War I.
Given Canada’s history of military innovation, it comes as no surprise that many Canadian companies are leading the charge into this Brave Uncrewed World. Here are some of the companies who are making a difference.
Headquartered in Calgary with a base in Cold Lake, Alberta, “Canadian UAVs
is the only defence prime in Canada exclusively focused on autonomous systems, specifically UAVs,” said Sean Greenwood, President and CEO of Canadian UAVs. The company provides a range of flight operations, maintenance and training services to commercial and military UAV customers. Ninety-five percent its work is in Canada, or for the CAF posted abroad. Roughly 50% of Canadian UAVs’ output is for defence.
In the past two years, Canadian UAVs has brought the Sparrowhawk Radar system — to support its Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) UAV operations — and Tasker software to market. “Sparrowhawk is the only aviation regulator approved Detect and Avoid system available in Canada, if not globally,” Greenwood told CDR. “Tasker is an operations and data management software to manage the regulatory compliance of a highly complex, mixed OEM, high volume aircraft fleet and the data that fleet produces.”
Canadian UAVs and its partner Textron Systems is bidding to win the RCN’s ISTAR procurement with their Aerosonde 4.7 HQ UAV. It is “the reliable, sensor ‘pickup truck’ Canada needs for 80% of its missions and Canadian UAVs is the ‘all solutions’ RPAS service provider able to deliver it in this regulatory and weather environment,” said Greenwood.
With its business office in Ottawa, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) is central to Canada’s UAV efforts. This is because the Government of Canada is purchasing a fleet of MQ-9B SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) from GA-ASI. The company headed up the successful ‘Team SkyGuardian’ bid for this contract along with CAE, L3Harris Technologies, and MDA.
“MQ-9B is GA-ASI’s next-generation RPAS, delivering exceptionally long endurance and range in the most demanding weather, with auto takeoff and landing under SATCOM-only control, and will be able to operate in unsegregated airspace using the GA-ASI-developed Detect and Avoid system,” said Michel Lalumiere, GA-ASI’s International Strategic Development Director for Canada. “The SkyGuardian RPAS is interoperable with Canada’s domestic missions and its continental defence missions through NORAD, as well as with Canada’s closest allies for missions abroad — including the Five Eyes Alliance (FVEY) and NATO.” The first delivery is expected in 2028.
GA-ASI has begun making deliveries of the MQ-9B Protector RPAS to the UK’s Royal Air Force. “In addition to Canada, contracts have been signed with Belgium, Taiwan and the U.S. Air Force in support of the Special Operations Command,” Lalumiere said. “The Japanese Coast Guard is currently operating the MQ-9B for maritime operations.”
MDA is helping General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) in equipping the CAF with a fleet of MQ-9B SkyGuardian RPAS. Under a $74 million contract, MDA will complete the assembly of RPAS ground control stations at the company’s Richmond, BC, facility. MDA is also delivering the combat search and rescue radios for the program, and designing the RPAS Ground Control Centre information management system that controls how information flows, is secured and shared.
“Canada’s large, diverse, and complex landscape, including the Arctic, requires trusted and tested mission partners who understand the operating landscape, the need for seamless system integration, and the strategic value of real-time information and insight,” said Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA. “We’re honoured to be partnering with GA-ASI and other Canadian companies to deliver this important new system that will support Canada’s domestic and continental defence and security priorities.”
In addition to SkyGuardian drones, MDA is involved in CAF projects such as the· Canadian Surface Combatant, RADARSAT Constellation Mission Operations – Polar Epsilon 2, GEOINT Services/ Dark Vessel Detection , and Sapphire Surveillance of Space Satellite Mission and Operations; among others.
General Dynamics Missions Systems – Canada (GDMS-C) has a dedicated Centre of Excellence for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems in Sherbrooke, Québec. It is supporting the ongoing development of the LX300 Rotary Wing Remotely Piloted Aircraft System. “This multi-mission and multi-role, uncrewed helicopter is well-positioned to meet the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces and its allies in responding to the changing character of conflict, as well as supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” said Andrew Carryer, GDMS-C’s Director of Airborne Mission Systems – RPAS.
That’s not all. “In addition to RPAS systems, our engineering teams in Ottawa and Halifax are building RPAS sub-systems like the UYS-505 and UYS-506 distributed sonobuoy processors,” Carver said. “First used by the RCAF, this technology has become an export success story supporting maritime patrol missions around the world. It has become a key enabling technology for uncrewed aircraft internationally, including the MQ-9B Sea Guardian. We also support the Communications Ground Station for NATO’s RQ-4D Phoenix, and various sonars for Uncrewed Surface Vehicles (USV) and towed arrays.”
As a part of the global General Dynamics corporation, GDMS-C can draw upon a deep and broad array of uncrewed maritime and land systems know-how,” he added. This is because General Dynamics’ uncrewed systems expertise includes the Knifefish AUV, the Bluefin UUV, integration of the Overlord USV, and the Multi-Utility Tactical Transport UGV.
INSITU/BOEING
Insitu, a Boeing company, has been designing, manufacturing, and operating
Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) since 1994. To date, they have collectively logged 1.5 million hours of maritime missions and 175,000 sorties of real-world operational experience.
“Our full list of products includes Integrator, Integrator VTOL, Integrator Extended Range, ScanEagle, and ScanEagle VTOL,” said Jay Forte, Insitu’s Business Development Executive for Southern Europe and Latin America. “Insitu UAS are all runway-independent and feature a range of modular, multi-INT payloads. They offer a VTOL capability designed to operate in challenging maritime conditions while providing the same endurance and long ranges as a land-based system.”
In Canada, Insitu is investing in technology to support the Canadian Armed Forces use the CU172 Blackjack UAS in extreme cold. “It is a ‘winterization’ project that includes the implementation of a heated propeller and other anti-icing and de-icing features designed to enable operations during icing conditions,” Forte told CDR. For the record, the CAF’s 4th Artillery Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, has been operating the CU172 (a variant of Insitu’s Integrator UAS) since 2019. This unit currently operates two CU172 Blackjack systems, deploying it for the first time in 2024.
Based in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Landing Zones Canada specializes in the design, development, production, and employment of advanced uncrewed aerial systems for the civil and defence sectors. The company has signed agreements with heavy-hitters such as Airbus Defence and Space, Lockheed Martin Canada CDL Systems, and Shearwater Aerospace. Landing Zones Canada designs and manufactures innovative products such as the Drone Bomblet Pyrotechnic (DBP), which it bills as the world’s first drone-launched training bomblet pyrotechnic developed to fully replicate the drone threats encountered in battle.
In a bid to protect the Canadian uncrewed vehicle sector from foreign competition, Landing Zones Canada Founder and CEO, Spence Fraser, has put together the Canadian Target Alliance (CTA). Along with his company, CTA members include Canadian UAVs, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works (Calgary), Laflamme Aéro, and UVAD Technologies.
“CTA consists of the small Canadian companies who could benefit from selling their drones as targets,” Fraser told CDR. “Right now, the $300 million scheduled to be spent on air defence training is all going to go outside of Canada.”
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) is a supplier of defence products and systems for command and control, surveillance, space, tactical communications, remote weapons stations, and missile systems. In Canada, KDA provides the PROTECTOR Remote Weapon Station (RWS) to the Canadian Army. It employs the RWS on various wheeled vehicles, most notably the TAPV.
“KDA is under contract for and is currently underway with delivering our latest PROTECTOR RWS RS4 for the new ACSV program,” said Scott Hall, Manager of Business Development with KDA Land Systems. “KDA is the market leader for Remote Weapon Stations, with over 22,000 RWSs delivered to-date.”
As well, KDA was selected by the Royal Canadian Navy to supply its ships with the Naval Strike Missile (NSM). In addition to Canada, Norway, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Poland are among the NSM users within NATO. The company also builds the NASAMS air defence system, which has been deployed in Ukraine.
“KDA may be a small company, but we are nearly as old as the country, and through two centuries of innovation and delivering results, KDA is now recognized as a global technology leader,” Hall said. “We are very proud of our relationship with Canada, and our support to the Canadian Armed Forces.”
With locations in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec and Ottawa, Ontario, Rheinmetall Canada is a pioneer in uncrewed systems. The company produces the Mission Master family of Uncrewed Ground Systems (UGS) to support troops and supplies on the battlefield. These vehicles are controlled using Rheinmetall Canada’s PATH A-kit software, which can be deployed on non-company platforms to convert them into autonomous uncrewed transports.
Seventy five percent of Rheinmetall Canada’s work is defence related. Sixty percent of that output is exported; the rest sold in Canada. The company is working on or targeting a wide range of CAF/DND projects including ASUWPS, MRR, MASS, SOTM, TAPV ISS, LEO 2A4, LEO ARV, and PSS.
“Rheinmetall Canada invests massively in the development of uncrewed ground systems and electronic solutions and works closely with post-secondary institutions specializing in these fields,” said Pietro Mazzei, the company’s President and CEO. “Today, we continue to maintain Canadian innovation at the forefront of our business by providing highly technical jobs to our 400 employees, including currently serving CAF members and veterans, who make up nearly 20% of our workforce.”
UVAD is an uncrewed vehicle engineering, manufacturing and services company with locations in Medicine Hat, Alberta and Burnaby, British Columbia. The company’s business is built upon “delivering critical intelligence and information to customers by leveraging and exploiting the use of our Canadian developed-and-produced UAVs,” said Vincent Malley, UVAD’s Vice President of Business Development.
The company’s fleet includes multi-rotor, fixed-wing, and supersonic UAVs. As well, “UVAD has developed a multi-disciplinary engineering capability stemming from our vertically integrated UAV system development experience,” Malley told CDR. “These capabilities enable UVAD to tackle UAV system-related challenges and a broad range of adjacent applications. As well, we evaluate our uncrewed aircraft design capability in a variety of speed and flow environments ranging from subsonic to supersonic to hypersonic.”
UVAD recently signed a deal with Raytheon, an RTX business, under Canada’s ITB program for a multi-million dollar investment. “The funding will support a multi-year program to commercialize and deliver Falcon, the world’s first affordable, threat representative, subscale supersonic Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) target,” said Malley.
Kraken Robotics is a marine technology company providing complex subsea sensors, batteries, and robotic systems, with proven expertise in seabed intelligence. Its high-resolution 3D acoustic imaging solutions and services enable clients to overcome the challenges of operating at sea. Located in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, about 80% of Kraken’s total revenue is defence-oriented, mostly from export markets.
“Kraken currently works with the Canadian Department of National Defence on their Remote Minehunting and Disposal Systems (RMDS),” said company President and CEO, Greg Reid. “The RMDS consists of two classes of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs): Light Weight AUVs and Operator Portable AUVs, all of which will be equipped with Kraken’s MINSAS synthetic aperture sonar.”
In 2023, Kraken invested about 11% of its revenue in R&D. Besides Canada, the company provides products and services to defence and commercial clients in more than 25 countries, including Australia, the United States, Taiwan, Denmark, Italy, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Brazil, Germany, Sweden, and Ukraine.
Ottawa-based Allen-Vanguard delivers customized solutions for defeating Radio Frequency (RF) based terrorist and extremist threats, such as radio-controlled UAVs and IEDs. Its product line includes SCORPION Electronic Counter Measure (ECM) systems. “95% of our business is related to Defence, with 60% of our equipment being exportable, mostly to United Nations Missions throughout the world,” said Steve Drover, Allen-Vanguard’s Business Development Director for Canada. “The other 5% is geared towards Security, such as police agencies. Allen-Vanguard supports all FVEYS with our life-saving capabilities.”
This company does its design and prototyping in Ottawa and has a contract manufacturing company in the region that builds its systems. “Our focus within Canada is one of the larger programs, namely Canadian Forces Land Electronic Warfare Modernization (CFLEWM),” Drover said. “We have just gone through a large R&D effort and we are about to move into the production phase with our NXT systems, which will see a transition of our company from a pure RC-CIED company to a ECM company with a focus on Electronic Warfare.”
Export sales are important to Allen-Vanguard. “Fortunately, CAF soldiers aren’t operating in areas that have a large IED threat,” said Drover. “However, there are militaries that continue to face those threats on a daily basis.”
With its headquarters in St. John’s, Newfoundland and offices across Canada, PAL Aerospace manages the entire lifecycle of aircraft product and program development through its systems engineering team.
“We handle everything [that is] system engineering, which includes authoring or deriving concepts of operations (CONOPS) to developing operational use cases and producing technical specifications, to designing, building, and integrating systems,” said Bruce Conlin, PAL Aerospace’s Vice President of Systems Engineering. “For our special mission ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) platforms, this involves both manned and unmanned solutions, ensuring mission effectiveness through proper sensor selection, data integration, and real-time communication. Throughout this entire process, the alignment of all stakeholders, system integration, and ensuring mission success are critical.”
To aid in this process, PAL Aerospace has recently published a CONOPS Guide, which is available for downloading at palaerospace.com/conops. “The CONOPS Guide serves as a valuable resource for those looking to streamline the acquisition and development of ISR systems, helping teams navigate the complexities of system engineering with efficiency,” Conlin said.
As a company, PAL Aerospace designs, engineers, certifies, tests, and operates special mission aircraft. “Beyond initial delivery, we offer In-Service Support, ensuring all maintenance, upgrades, and technical support are seamless,” said Conlin.
James Careless is CDR’s Ottawa Bureau Chief
