Base Camp Connect (BCC) benefits from having CAF Reservists on staff, bringing real-world military experience to the design of their communication systems.
Staying Connected When it Matters Most
BY MARC MONTGOMERY
In order to design the best possible product, you need to know how the product will be used. So, when you’re designing tactical communications equipment, having active Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Reservists on staff, provides you with a huge advantage in refining your products.
“Having members of our staff who design our products and who are also CAF Reservists is a huge advantage in making constant improvements,” says Francis Raveneau, Vice President of Base Camp Connect (BCC), a high-tech communications firm located in Lévis, Quebec.
BCC develops extremely compact, versatile communications technology which is designed to combine disparate communications systems into one seamless network. For example, during multinational joint operations there can be many different communications systems at play. BCC’s products will combine all of these systems into one seamless network, so that everyone can communicate effectively – both domestic and allied troops.
READ: TECHNOLOGY SPOTLIGHT – Base camp Connect
According to Raveneau, nearly half of BCC’s staff are closely connected to the military – with many of them enlisted as Reservists. He calls this a “harmonious union, because the Reservist’s operational experience allows them to understand what is needed, how the army functions, and then brings that knowledge back to the company. It helps with our understanding, helps us plan our next steps/improvements and gives us a better understanding of the type of product that is needed.”
Aryan Kanani and Simon Bérard are employed as technical experts at BCC. Both are also MCpl signallers with 35 Brigade Group (35 CBG) in Quebec City. “When I create and develop the R&D process, I can use the lens of my experience as an operator to design the product with the knowledge of how it will be used, so closer to the end user experience,” Kanani told CDR. He adds, “We come into the business with a fresh set of eyes, knowing the reality on the ground. Having that knowledge base gives us insight into how we can better design our products by incorporating certain features that are very useful. I think BCC’s products will be the new standard within the CAF – and even NATO partners – due to their simplicity, compact size, and the fact that they’re really equipment agnostic – you can pretty much add anything to it that supports common standards. I anticipate BCC’s products will form the core of many deployments, from tactical all the way to strategic levels.”
Bérard underlines the advantages of BCC’s products noting that it wasn’t that long ago that deployed communication systems involved hundreds of kilos of equipment, big cases and big racks of servers, which took up lots of space and required lots of power. He says, “now that capability can be provided with our tactical kit, which is about the size of a briefcase.”
Both Kanani and Bérard admit they’re always getting feedback from Reserve and Regular Force users and are always working on greater security, making it more accessible, faster and simpler to use. “We’re always ‘polishing’ the technology,” Bérard concluded.
As for having Reservists on staff, Raveneau notes that when they are on deployment, they’re going to be using BCC equipment. “So, in serving their country, it’s a win-win-win kind of situation. The feedback loop is an undeniable advantage for us.”
INTEROPERABILITY
Because BCC’s products are so easy to understand, simple to use and much smaller than older systems, the CAF has chosen BCC for its recent European operations. While a truck load of heavy crates of electronics is ‘deployable’, it is not tactically efficient or rapidly moved. Because the war in Ukraine has highlighted the vulnerabilities of fixed command posts, in September 2023, DND indicated it would be moving to dispersed command posts. These new dispersed command posts are a perfect fit for BCC’s small, powerful, adaptable and scalable tactical kit. While BCC does supply larger strategic networks, these tactical kits enable complete links, voice, data, satellite, over large distances from forward positions and do so while protecting various national encryption keys.
According to Raveneau, although the technology is complex, their priority is making the products simple for the operator to setup and use. “You want the interface to be as simple to use as possible. This communications technology is designed to enable communications when they are needed the most – allowing soldiers to make better decisions and keep their units safe. That is what we stick to simple interfaces that are quick to use, and that has added value in the field.”
In fact, the company’s products are becoming more widely recognized for their ability to meet the developing NATO concept for Federated Mission Networking (FMN) and especially for Federated Networking at the Tactical Edge, linking Allied systems and equipment. This is especially important with forward tactical operations in Denied, Disrupted, Intermittent, and Limited (DDIL) environments, which are characterized by unreliable network connectivity, which can lead to mission downtime and loss of access to critical systems. This is why BCC is now in advanced talks and testing with at least three other Allied militaries.
CANADIAN BENEFITS – FUTURE PRODUCTS
Raveneau tells CDR that as a small all-Canadian company, Canada’s ITB requirements give BCC an advantage when partnering with primes like General Dynamics Missions Systems-Canada (GDMS-C), Thales, Saab, BAE Systems and others.
“This enables us to look into co-developing new products that don’t exist right now, or at least not in the form we want, for the Canadian military – which has requested us to do so,” Raveneau told CDR. “This could be the Army, where we have most of our work, but also with the Royal Canadian Air Force, and we are now discussing with the Royal Canadian Navy. So, the ITB policy is a very good factor in initiating talks and making sure taxpayer money is reinvested into Canadian companies and innovative technologies, rather then just buying from the US.”
One example is a product Base Camp Connect previewed at CANSEC 2024 called the Cobalt Tactical Ground Control Station. Co-developed with Thales, this product integrates some of the communication parts found in a ground control station for drones and other features in which BCC’s engineering and R&D employees were heavily involved. Another BCC partnership involves BAE Systems and their NetVIPR communications network, which involves several nodes in a secure net to provide redundancy if some are damaged in warfare.
Raveneau is proud to talk about his company’s recent success, highlighting the fact that BCC’s sales grew by 40 percent last year. “Certainly, much of that is in Canada with DND contracts but also with various partnerships. We are also growing in Europe, parts of Southeast Asia, Australia and the growth is expected to continue for years to come.”
Raveneau is excited for CANSEC 2025. CANSEC attendees will see BCC products featured at many booths besides their own – including GDMS-C and Thales.
Marc Montgomery is a Regular CDR Contributor
