Canadian companies eye speed, quick contracts from Ottawa’s new drone marketplace

Canadian companies are hoping Ottawa’s new drone marketplace will lower the barriers to getting high-volume defence contracts as the Mark Carney government accelerates the building of the country’s military capacity and defence industrial base.

The government last month launched the Defence Drone Initiative (DDI) to help the Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian Coast Guard swiftly develop, test and adapt drone and related technologies and services from a pre-approved list of qualified suppliers.

Led by the Department of National Defence and the recently created Defence Investment Agency, the DDI has six initial priority procurement areas: drones, counter-drone systems, uncrewed ground vehicles, uncrewed maritime and underwater systems, drone munitions and payloads and deep precision strike systems.

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This will also help build Canadian manufacturing capacity and establish a sovereign supply chain, Dana O’Born, chief strategy officer at technology advocacy group the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), said, which could translate into benefits for a range of homegrown firms from manufacturers and chipmakers to service and software providers.

“There are lots of opportunities for Canadian companies on the front end, but also downstream on the systems that support the equipment going out into the marketplace,” she said.

Larger and more established companies, such as major defence contractors or their Canadian subsidiaries, hold certain advantages like having security-cleared teams and evidence of contract deliveries and manufacturing capabilities, said Matthew de Mota, research director of emerging technology and national security at the Canadian Shield Institute, a policy-focused think tank.

The government also wants to give a “lift” to Canadian small and mid-sized businesses to quickly move forward, he said, and the DDI encourages companies to apply even if they haven’t previously engaged in defence work.