Canada launches drone initiative to build domestic capacity

A Hammerhead USV-T built by Meggitt Systems, now QinetiQ. Canada is working to strengthen its unmanned systems capabilities through the DDI. (Meggitt Systems)

The Canadian government has launched an initiative to accelerate domestic development, testing, and production of unmanned and autonomous systems to support the requirements of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) said in a 23 July statement.

Unmanned technologies are increasingly important for military operations, supporting tasks such as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), logistics, personnel protection, and counter-drone, the statement noted.

The Canadian Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) identifies unmanned and autonomous systems as a key sovereign capability, the statement added. The Defence Drone Initiative (DDI) is intended to strengthen the Canadian defence industrial base and deliver operational capabilities to the CAF and CCG, a DND spokesperson told Janes on 12 August.

“Under this initiative, sovereign capability means having access to the expertise, intellectual property, production capacity, supply chains, and sustainment needed to operate and scale critical capabilities,” the spokesperson said, emphasising that the goal is to “strengthen Canada's ability to develop, produce, support, and evolve key defence capabilities while reducing dependency and increasing supply chain resilience”.

A stronger domestic drone ecosystem is expected to provide the “expertise, testing capacity, production capability, and innovation needed to respond more quickly to future operational requirements”, the spokesperson said.

Flexible framework

The DDI, led by the DND and Defence Investment Agency (DIA), is intended to “create a faster pathway for promising Canadian technologies to move from concept to operational testing and, where they meet defence requirements, into production”, the statement said.