GeoSpectrum Technologies: Sonar Technology

Littoral Security

GeoSpectrum Technologies has seen considerable success amidst rising demand for its sonar products, such as Lilypad and TRAPS

BY PETER DIEKMEYER

Sean Kelly grew up in Grand Falls Newfoundland and loves the region. But Atlantic Canada’s tough job market formed a perennial dark cloud. He was never sure where he would end up. “I went to Memorial University, but local opportunities were rare,” says Kelly, Vice President of Business Development at GeoSpectrum Technologies. “Many of my friends had to move to central Canada.”

Kelly got lucky. Following brief studies in political science he joined the Royal Canadian Navy as an ordinary seaman and quickly rose through the ranks to Chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2). While he could have been posted anywhere, Kelly spent much of his naval career in Atlantic Canada. There he developed many of the leadership skills that would pave the way into civilian industry upon retirement.

Today, Kelly is in his second career with GeoSpectrum Technologies, a fast-growing Dartmouth Nova Scotia-based provider of military grade sonar systems, which are a crucial tool in Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) systems. A key focus in Kelly’s business development role is landing contracts that create jobs and contribute to building the local economy. “Atlantic Canada has traditionally been an outsized contributor to the country’s defence sector,” Kelly told CDR. “We want to make sure that continues.”

STAFFING LEVELS SET TO INCREASE

A recent slew of production contract wins in Europe, the US and Asia suggests that GeoSpectrum will meet its goals. “We’re looking to do significant hiring during the coming year,” says Kelly. “We are doing it for business reasons. But it will also enable many Atlantic Canadians who wish to stay in the region to do so.”

The new hires are also expected to have a significant impact on the region’s economy. “The salaries our employees spend often support families and local businesses,” Kelly explains. “They in turn recycle a lot of the funds in the region thus creating a virtuous circle.”

GeoSpectrum, whose principal operations are housed in a 65,000 square foot facility in Burnside neighbourhood along the northeast shore of Halifax Regional Municipality, is in the process of renovating new space to accommodate a facility where many of the 90 new employees the company expects to hire during the coming year will be trained. “Eventually, we’ll likely need additional square footage,” Kelly admitted. “Our employees really like where we are located. Adding an extension would be the easiest solution as it would enable us to remain here.”

PARTNERING WITH UNIVERSITIES

One of GeoSpectrum’s biggest challenges is that the sophisticated area surveillance/protection systems, software, and test and evaluation solutions that the company provides require highly specialized workforces to design, maintain and produce. “Mechanical, electrical, and industrial engineers, manufacturing assemblers and field service technicians aren’t always easy to find,” says Kelly. “But we have developed a range of strategies over the years to identify, attract and develop top talent.”

Kelly cites GeoSpectrums’s close ties with local educational institutions such as Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Community College and Saint Mary’s University as a key driver of the company’s human relations strategy. “We partner in strong co-op programs with all of those institutions,” Kelly told CDR. “This provides us with an ongoing talent pool that we can draw on when gaps emerge.”

UNMANNED SURVEILLANCE

GeoSpectrum’s sonar solutions appear to have been developed in the right place at the right time. While Canada boasts the world’s longest coastline, ownership over much of it’s Arctic region is being contested by adversary nations, such as Russia and China. All this during a time of considerable asymmetric warfare activities being conducted underneath key global waterways ranging from mysterious blown-up pipelines to damaged fiber-optic cables.

The need for actionable information about what is going on inside Canadian littoral waters has never been greater. “Sonar systems are a crucial domestic capability,” says Kelly. As such, GeoSpectrum Technologies has designed, engineered, and created a product known as ‘Lilypad’. Lilypad is an offshore surveillance system with a surface expression that is also anchored to the seabed. Lilypads detect threats on, below, and above the water. And, because they are unmanned, they act as a perfect tripwire.

Kelly, who cut his teeth as an ASW Director during part of his time with the Canadian Armed Forces, cites Dartmouth’s proximity to Halifax Shipyard, where Canada’s Halifax-class frigates are being maintained and where the country’s River-class destroyers will be built as an ideal locale for an Anti-Submarine Warfare cluster. Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Halifax, home port to the Royal Canadian Navy Atlantic fleet is located nearby, as are 13,000 kilometers worth of Nova Scotia shorelines which provide excellent testing sites.

TRAPS

GeoSpectrum’s recent success has stemmed in large part from its Towed Reelable Active Passive Sonar (TRAPS) solutions which can accommodate both low (for long range) and medium frequency sonars. “TRAPS has applications around the world,” Kelly told CDR. “We attracted significant attention during tests we did in 2021 on HMCS Harry de Wolfe on Operation Nanuk. What clients really like is the fact that the systems can be flexibly deployed on any type of ship, including frigates and destroyers, and can be loaded into containers and moved between ships.”

Kelly highlights a recent deal to sell TRAPS to an undisclosed NATO client as a “game changer” which, due to the alliance’s stringent interoperability requirements, puts GeoSpectrum into an ‘enhanced category’ of Anti-Submarine warfare providers. “We export nearly 85% of our production to clients such as the US Navy. That’s important because while we create jobs locally, we also bring fresh money into Canada and thus add value across the country.”

A RISING TIDE LIFTS ALL BOATS

Kelly argues that his time spent with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) provides him with a greater understanding of the challenges that government procurement officials face in addressing the complex and often contradictory requirements of their demanding jobs. This is expected to be particularly useful to GeoSpectrum in its involvement in with Team Vigilance, a grouping of contractors who are proposing solutions to replace the RCN’s Kingston Class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels.

Kelly also serves as a role model to new GeoSpectrum hires, by contributing directly to the Halifax community through volunteer work he has done as an abuse investigator with the Nova Scotia SPCA. However, the key focus remains on people, particularly on enhancing GeoSpectrum’s long term practice of promoting within the organization. “A rising tide lifts all boats,” says Kelly. “We once hired a single Mom to work on the floor and now she works as a sales executive. Everyone wins when that happens.”

Peter Diekmeyer is CDR’s Quebec Bureau Chief