Nortac Defence – TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

A New Signal on the Battlefield

BY MARC MONTGOMERY

CDR recently spoke with Tim Grant, Founder & CEO of Nortac Defence, to learn more about his company’s product offerings and get his insights into the future of battlefield communications technology.

The full conversation can be heard on the CDR Radio Podcast, with an abridged/edited version of the interview available below.

CDR: Mr. Grant, let’s begin with a look at why and how you started Nortac Defence.

Tim Grant: We started off as another company in Iraq and in Afghanistan where we basically digitalized the operational area for the security contractors working there, using satellite short-burst data (SBD) and we were pushing those data fields into the U.S. military battlefield management systems (BMS).

So basically, you knew who was who, where they were, and if they were in trouble. That collapsed time scales in terms of being able to respond to them. It saved a lot of lives, so we realized there was actually a military application for what we were doing, and hence we set up what became Nortac Defence in Ottawa.

CDR: How does your technology differ from others in this field?     

Tim Grant: Nortac Defence was specifically established to design technology for the defence sector. So whilst we’re dual-use, we’ve actually evolved into a data fusion hub where we are using LTE networks, mobile phone networks, satellite, radio, and drone video. We’re getting all the devices to have a common operating picture where you can see devices on maps coming from different communications bearers and allowing those devices to be interoperable and speak with each other. Our technology also incorporates advanced encryption and security which is becoming very prevalent now.

We integrate commercial-off-the -shelf (COTS) systems from other suppliers but also incorporate elements that we build ourselves, both for the SBD networks and our own devices like the NORTAC WAVE handheld radio, which does things very specific to our capabilities and it incorporates machine-to-machine communications with advanced encryption. The same is true for our software that can be downloaded on smartphones.

That said, we will still use all the commercial devices that are available if a client wants something a bit more basic. We can integrate those into the platform. So, we’re very much device agnostic, and network agnostic.

Compared to defence Primes, we’re at the other end of the spectrum in terms of costs. Indeed, a core part of our strategy is international markets outside of NATO, so we have to be affordable to them.

A key plank of our strategy is interoperability. It’s not only about how different units and formations work with each other, but also about interoperability between allied nations and how different countries work together. And, from a dual-use perspective, how might military work with civilian disaster management agencies, those sorts of concepts.

The answer to interoperability comes from different countries employing the ‘TITAN by NORTAC’ platform and being able to federate those platforms for a particular situation/operation, and then de-federate once that operation is over whilst maintaining the integrity of your own sovereign data.

THE FUTURE OF
BATTLEFIELD COMMUNICATIONS

CDR: Where do you see this field going, given the speed of technological advance?

Tim Grant: Data will effectively become the ‘weapons system’ of the future. We’re bringing in data feeds from many different devices, sensors, platforms, and sources in order to help with the ‘decide’ element of the chain which is all about data – and how to make the right decisions with that data.

Inevitably AI starts to come into the equation. Once you have the right data sources and you know what kind of questions you’re trying to answer, AI can be incorporated to speed up that tempo.

CDR: Canada has established the IDEaS (Innovation for Defence, Excellence, and Security) program to help promote defence innovation. Has that been an advantage to your company?

Tim Grant: We’re absolutely taking advantage of it. There’s IDEaS, but as well, there’s NATO DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) which is also quite interesting.  The latest call for proposals for five new challenges is now closed, and we’re waiting to see if we’ve been selected as part of NATO DIANA’s second cohort.

CDR: Given the current geopolitical situation, in your opinion, how important is it for Canada to have a domestic defence contractor like Nortac Defence?

Tim Grant: I think it’s extremely important. We’ve got important intellectual property which can be developed here.

With the required funding now in place, I would like to think that Nortac Defence is going to become an important part of that SME (Small, Medium Enterprise) defence ecosystem moving forward, and will works on a collaborative basis with other smaller defence companies in Canada who represent tactical level data feeds where we can work together.

BUY CANADIAN

CDR: The fact you are not subject to ITAR and the policy of ‘Buy Canadian’, how does that affect your positioning in the market both in Canada and abroad?

Tim Grant: Well, I think it’s fantastic. Canada has a very good reputation and it’s a huge benefit that we sit outside of ITAR. So, the opportunity to develop particular dual-use technologies and grow exports is absolutely there from being a totally Canadian company.

There’s a great ecosystem in Canada of smaller companies who will now get a chance to grow and I think we can collaborate with them.

PROCUREMENT

CDR: Defence procurement in Canada has characterized as bureaucratic, slow, and complex, with frequent delays. What are your thoughts given that the government has created a new Defence Investment Agency?

Tim Grant: The Defence Investment Agency is very interesting. With the latest defence industrial strategy and the amount of funds that are being committed, and the other initiatives that are being set up, the likes of BOREALIS (Bureau of Research, Engineering and Advanced Leadership in Innovation and Science) and others, that money will start to flow down to the SMEs.

We as a company are very fortunate to have a contract into all the federal agencies through the Shared Services contract, so we do have a procurement channel which hopefully will grow as we move forward.

CDR: To close, where do you see the company going given the government wanting to spend money on defence?

Tim Grant: I think we’re extremely well positioned with a mature TRL-9 technology. It works. So the potential to exponentially grow the company is absolutely there now, with access to more procurement, both within Canada and also through exports. I think we’re extremely well positioned to grow as a Canadian company.

CDR: Thank you.

Marc Montgomery is a Regular CDR Contributor