A Conversation with Pietro Mazzei
Rheinmetall Canada – From Air Defence Root to Autonomous Frontiers
Pietro Mazzei is President and CEO of Rheinmetall Canada. He spoke with CDR’s Ottawa Bureau Chief, James Careless, about Rheinmetall Canada‘s long history with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), the company’s ability to enhance the CAF’s readiness, and its ambitious plans for the future. Before joining this company in 2016, Mazzei spent more than 25 years with CAE in various strategic roles.
For the last 40 years, Rheinmetall Canada has been a proven partner of the Canadian Army. Their association began with an air defence missile system program in 1986. This partnership has grown since then.
Part of the Rheinmetall Group headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany, Rheinmetall Canada is a global systems integrator for the land domain. It specializes in systems for battle management, robotics, and Uncrewed Ground Systems (UGS). Rheinmetall Canada also serves as the Rheinmetall Group’s global centre for autonomous vehicle technology, with innovations developed in Canada now being used internationally.
RHEINMETALL CANADA’S ROOTS
Rheinmetall Canada’s roots in this country are old and deep. “We were born out of the Industrial and Regional Benefits (IRB) policy in 1986 when Oerlikon established Canadian operations to deliver the Air Defence Anti-Tank missile system for the Canadian Armed Forces Low-Level Defence program,” said Mazzei. “This ADATs era was the beginning of our story, with Rheinmetall Canada building and sustaining sophisticated technology in the Montérégie area of Quebec. Over the course of the following years, we developed high-level services in systems, subsystems, software, and logistics engineering. It laid the foundation to expand into new markets, such as battle management, land defence, and autonomous land systems.”
Today, Rheinmetall Canada has developed the necessary capabilities to support the CAF in the areas of C2 (Command and Control) and ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance) technology, robotics and UGS. “We have delivered capabilities across multiple sectors to our Canadian Armed Forces such as the Multi-Ammunition Soft kill System (MASS) for the Halifax class ships, Medium Range Radar (MRR), and the Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle (TAPV),” Mazzei told CDR. “More recently we were honoured to be awarded the Enhanced Recovery capability program (ERC) and the Leopard Long Term Sustainment Contract (LTSC). Rheinmetall Canada has also become the Canadian Leader in autonomous ground technologies using expertise fully developed in Canada. Underpinned by its world leading autonomous technology, Rheinmetall Canada is a global leader in Autonomous Uncrewed Ground Systems (A-UGS). Our Canadian expertise has allowed us to develop the world-leading PATH Autonomous Kit (A-Kit) which we are rapidly expanding world-wide via our network of Advanced Land Autonomy Centers of Excellence (ALACoEs) in the Nordics, Germany, and UK.”
IMPROVING CANADA’S READINESS
The CAF has publicly acknowledged its shortcomings in battlefield readiness, stemming from problems with recruiting and retaining personnel, and the degraded quality of much of its equipment. To remedy these issues while buttressing this nation’s Arctic sovereignty, Rheinmetall Canada is advising the Canadian government to invest in autonomous capabilities like this company’s A-UGS technology.
“The Canadian Armed Forces have been facing a personnel shortage for years, and as seen most recently, they are now investing even more on recruitment and retention by increasing wages and service incentives,” said Mazzei. “As we look ahead at the priorities outlined by the Canadian government, exercising our sovereignty in the Arctic is essential, and with personnel shortages around the country and more so in the North, Canada needs to consider how autonomy can be used in their operations to relieve some of those personnel shortages more urgently.”
This is where Rheinmetall’s Uncrewed Ground Systems can help. “In the case of our A-UGS, we have spent more than six years developing this technology around Arctic terrain with our Nordic partners,” he said. “We have discussed the potential use with Inuit communities in support of their surveillance operations and daily needs in moving resources across long distances in challenging terrain. Our PATH A-Kit is ready to be deployed and can be installed on legacy platforms, as has been proven in Germany and the UK on the INTEROC trials utilizing the Rheinmetall HX truck. But this can only be accomplished with support from the Canadian government in expanding programs or modernizing existing vehicles with an autonomous capability using its sovereign Canadian-born technology.”
Canada has also outlined a number of infrastructure programs to modernize facilities for continued and sustained long-term use, he noted. “Part of that infrastructure discussion needs to include investing in strategic capabilities that need to remain in Canada, including protecting the arctic, cyber, and aerospace, but also autonomous capabilities, training and simulation, and air defence.”
From Rheinmetall Canada’s perspective, the question isn’t whether industry can respond to Canada’s evolving needs, but whether Canada can invest aggressively enough in these capabilities to keep its domestic defence industry viable at a time of intensifying global competition. “There are several programs around the world and other nations, particularly in Europe, are moving quicker to respond to urgent threats,” Mazzei told CDR. “Canadian programs have taken too many years to come to fruition, while other countries are offering investments for localization of operations. In this reality, it becomes extremely difficult to justify the business modernisation and expansion to increase capacity in Canada.”
That being said, Rheinmetall Canada deeply values its decades-long partnership with the CAF and wants to do what it can to boost Canada’s readiness. However, Ottawa has to step up as well to make this happen through consistent defence funding. “We want to continuously support the Canadian industrial base and leverage Canadian-built solutions, but we can only do that in partnership with the Canadian government in these critical areas,” Mazzei said. “Looking at how the battlefield has changed significantly because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, air defence has become integral to the discussion in defence and security. Our genesis story is one of air defence and that knowledge and expertise has been retained here as the only standing Canadian air defence company. We have the local capacity and experience to bring air defence to North America and further bolster our sovereignty and bring proven expertise to the table.”
IN GROWTH MODE
Thanks to all the work they are doing for the CAF, Rheinmetall Canada is growing. A case in point: “Rheinmetall Canada was recently awarded the Enhanced Recovery Capability project, which is expected to increase our employee base by about 10%,” said Mazzei. “This program is a great example of Rheinmetall Canada continuing to grow by importing advanced technologies and building a strong employee base with a variety of high-technology jobs for Canadians in the Montérégie region.”
As well, Rheinmetall Canada is expanding the commercial export of their unique turbine-powered Air Start Unit (ASU) to new markets. “Our mobile ASU is unique in the world because it utilises a turbine engine, offering our clients a highly efficient and cost-effective solution to supporting ground operations,” Mazzei told CDR. “Certified as a military variant, our ASU is present on every single aircraft carrier in the US, and we have expanded our client base across the globe to include Europe and Asia. More recently, we successfully tested an electric version on three aircraft engine types in Canada. Once certified it will offer the aviation industry an alternative to greening operations beyond fuel and infrastructure options. This development further highlights our ability to import technology from our Rheinmetall family, localize the operations and export the capability to offer Canadians employment opportunities in new and innovative sectors.”
Meanwhile, Rheinmetall Canada is seeing great success with its Mission Master uncrewed autonomous ground vehicles and the Path A-Kit that modifies other vehicles to operate autonomously as well. Globally, Rheinmetall Group has expanded its network of Advanced Land Autonomy Centres of Excellence (ALACOE) to include Norway, while Germany and the U.S. are the next strategic locations to advance the development and maturity of the company’s autonomous capabilities. “This means Canadian-born autonomous solutions will be developed further using local supply chains across Europe to increase our ability to respond to increased demand across the world,” said Mazzei.
HOW RHEINMETALL CAN AID
CANADA-EUROPE COOPERATION
The European Union’s Readiness 2030 (formerly ReArm Europe) is a C$1.3 trillion project designed to protect Europe from Russian aggression, as the U.S. retreats from its post-1945 protection of the continent. Canada and the EU have already taken steps to help Canadian defence companies take part in Readiness 2030, and more action is expected in the future.
As a subsidiary of a German company with strong European ties, Rheinmetall Canada sees itself as a vital link for Canadian-European cooperation. As such, it can help address Europe’s urgent defence needs by using their Canadian supply chain to increase production and bring European technology to Canada. This, in turn, will boost the Canadian economy and create high-value jobs.
“In today’s context of Canada and the CAF diversifying our reliance on the U.S. and strengthening EU cooperation, Rheinmetall Canada is well placed to support joint initiatives.
Mazzei explained. “Europe is facing significant capacity challenges responding to their urgent needs and increased volumes given the real security threats in the region. Rheinmetall Canada is ready. We have the expertise to bring those capabilities to Canada and leverage our Canadian supply chain to build capacity here and support Europe’s increased demand.”
Taking these steps would boost the Canadian economy and grow this country’s small/medium enterprises in the defence industry, he told CDR. This would help these domestic businesses to be better placed to respond to future CAF needs, using existing trusted technology shared by our allies.
“As we have seen throughout Rheinmetall Canada’s history, the world loves to do business with Canada, and we have been able to take successful Canadian programs to re-export to NATO nations,” said Mazzei. “We’ve established a strong Canadian-European link and this is one that the Canadian government can leverage to sustain strategic capabilities in Canada.”
Fortunately, Canada has already joined the Readiness 2030, he said, noting that such a move aligns with our country’s past actions and successes. “There is a strong history in technology exchanges between Europe and Canada, visible in our company’s history of repatriating European defence technology, and re-exporting to the benefit of Canada’s economy,” said Mazzei. “Continuing this exchange of technology and leveraging Canadian solutions is an easy way for Canada to contribute to this new agreement of increased cooperation and requires a partnership approach from Canada to secure the capacity at home.”
The best part? “Our European partners are open to investing in Canada to address ongoing capacity gaps,” Mazzei said. “We’ve already seen Rheinmetall Group expand its operations across the EU. We can move production of high-end weapon systems, munitions, and digital solutions to Canada to accelerate the development of technology and increase our production capacity. There is no question whether Canada can achieve the goals of increased defence cooperation. The capability exists here and the success of these goals depends greatly on how fast the government will decide to support growth initiatives aligned with their strategic goals: diversify from the U.S., strengthen Canadian-European cooperation, and bolster the Canadian economy — all while creating high-value jobs.”
LOOKING AHEAD
As for the future? Rheinmetall Canada would like to see this nation become a strategic provider of autonomy to itself and its NATO allies. It’s not an unreasonable ambition: “Rheinmetall Canada created the global benchmark for autonomous ground systems and the technology was born here in Canada,” said Mazzei. “Our A-UGS was developed with several NATO allies and is now being used in Europe, the U.S., and Asia. The Path A-kit is a separate capability that renders almost any vehicle autonomous. We’ve successfully integrated it on more than 40 vehicles. This is Canadian technology, unique in its capability and is easily integrated on a range of modern vehicles and legacy platforms.”
“The demand for autonomous ground systems around the world is increasing and we see the benefit to support operations with uncrewed systems as a force multiplier,” he concluded. “Rheinmetall Canada sees itself as a strategic partner to help the CAF accomplish its goals. We stand ready, elbows up.”
James Careless is CDR’s Ottawa Bureau Chief
