Space hardware manufacturer MDA Space has come down to Earth to formally declare itself a player in Canada’s growing defence industry.
The emergence of 49North follows the launch of Canada’s new, $6.6-billion Defence Industrial Strategy this week.
The Brampton-based company has launched 49North, a wholly owned subsidiary based in Ottawa exclusively focused on bolstering Canada’s terrestrial national defence priorities.
49North will develop Canadian defence solutions for land, air, maritime, and joint operations, including multi-domain C4ISR integration, according to MDA Space. C4ISR is an operational standard that stands for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance.
To lead this effort, MDA Space has tapped Joe Armstrong as president of 49North, reporting to MDA CEO Mike Greenley. Armstrong brings over 20 years of experience from Montréal-based defence company CAE, where he was most recently its VP of synthetic environment and immersive technologies.
Image courtesy MDA Space.
According to MDA Space, Armstrong had operational responsibility for CAE’s global defence portfolio across his various roles over the years, overseeing programs delivered to military customers in more than 40 countries and defence programs worldwide.
The emergence of 49North follows the launch of Canada’s new, $6.6-billion Defence Industrial Strategy this week. The strategy is just one component of the nearly $82 billion the feds plan to pour into defence over the next five years. As Canada’s interest in defence became apparent last year, tech companies began positioning themselves to get a cut.
MDA Space has already reaped some of the rewards, having been selected as one of the first procurements out of Canada’s new Defence Investment Agency in December. The company also signed a contract with the US Department of War last month to potentially help with the “Golden Dome” missile defence project.
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In a statement, Greenley called 49North “a natural extension” of the company’s commitment to provide sovereign defence capabilities.
“By bringing together proven defence and mission-critical systems expertise developed within MDA Space under a dedicated organization, 49North enhances domestic industrial capacity and investment, and delivers the disciplined execution required to support Canada’s sovereignty, security, and trusted allied partnerships,” Greenley said.
Feature image courtesy 49North.