49NORTH AWARDS CONTRACT TO TERRASENSE ANALYTICS-LED AIRBORNE SENSING LAB IN SUPPORT OF CANADA'S CQ-9B GUARDIAN REMOTELY PILOTED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM PROJECT
Key Highlights
- ➤$78.2 million RPAS contract supports Canada’s CQ-9B Guardian program
- ➤49North awards ASL contract for maritime EO/IR imagery collection
- ➤11 CQ-9B Guardian aircraft targeted for RCAF delivery by 2028
- ➤Automated target-classification capability to be developed from collected imagery
Expert Statements
Joe Armstrong, President, 49North
“This contract brings together Canadian industry and academic expertise to support the development of an important sovereign capability for the RCAF's RPAS project. By partnering with TerraSense, UBC's STAR Initiative and KF Aerospace, we are drawing on Canadian innovation and operational expertise to deliver for the Canadian Armed Forces while strengthening Canada's domestic defence ecosystem.”
Cornell Pich, Vice President of Business Growth and Strategy, TerraSense
“TerraSense is proud to support the development of sovereign Canadian defence capabilities through this work with 49North. As Canadian SMEs continue to drive innovation across the defence sector, programs like RPAS show the importance of bringing homegrown technology into national defence capability development.”
Gregg Evjen, President, KF Aerospace
“This project brings together some of Canada's strongest aerospace, technology and academic partners to advance an important sovereign defence capability. KF Aerospace is pleased to contribute its aircraft, operational expertise and decades of experience supporting complex defence programs. We are excited to grow this capability with exceptional, innovative partners like 49North and TerraSense.”
Michel Lalumiere, Director of International Strategic Development Canada, GA-ASI
“This is a great example of how business growth and success can fit into the Canadian Government Defence Industrial Strategy's Build-Partner-Buy approach. This effort fits nicely within the Build and Partner pillars and supports the industrial strategy and execution of the Team SkyGuardian Canada initiative led by GA-ASI and intended to showcase Canada's world-class capabilities on our industry-leading uncrewed systems.”
49NORTH AWARDS CONTRACT TO TERRASENSE ANALYTICS-LED AIRBORNE SENSING LAB IN SUPPORT OF CANADA'S CQ-9B GUARDIAN REMOTELY PILOTED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM PROJECT PR Newswire
OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- 49North, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MDA Space (TSX: MDA) (NYSE: MDA), today announced it has awarded a contract in support of Canada's Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) project to Airborne Sensing Lab (ASL), a consortium led by TerraSense Analytics in collaboration with the University of British Columbia Survive and Thrive Applied Research (STAR) initiative and KF Aerospace.
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