Ottawa should buy drones from domestic sources where possible, rather than well-funded foreign companies that set up distribution arrangements and register Canadian subsidiaries, said CANUC. Photo by COLE BURSTON/AFP via Getty Images

Article content

Article content

The businesses announced the formation of the Canadian Alliance for National Uncrewed Capability (CANUC), an advocacy group asking the government to prioritize Canadian-controlled companies as it builds out the country’s drone industrial base, at a major defence trade fair in Poland on Tuesday. Those companies employ more than 400 people and have over $70 million in combined annual revenue.

Article content

Article content

Article content

“(We) are ready to provide the Department of National Defence with truly made-in-Canada solutions, which means no licensing or reselling of foreign uncrewed technology,” said Josh Ogden, founder and chief executive of Fredericton-based Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions Inc., which makes parts for drones such as cameras, flight and safety systems.

Article content

Article content

The members say they have developed their operations and supply chains in a way that will keep manufacturing, intellectual property and control of critical systems within the country, which is key to developing sovereign drone capabilities amid an ongoing trade dispute with the United States.

Article content

Ottawa in August launched the Defence Drone Initiative to help the Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian Coast Guard quickly test and adopt uncrewed autonomous systems — including drones, counter-drone systems and ground and underwater vehicles — by establishing a list of pre-approved qualified suppliers. It has already started releasing names of approved companies that include Canadian, U.S. and European businesses.

Article content

Article content

CANUC said Ottawa should buy from domestic sources where possible, rather than well-funded foreign companies that set up distribution arrangements and register Canadian subsidiaries.

Article content

Article content

“Otherwise, we’re going to end up like the automotive industry, where we just assemble other people’s stuff,” Ogden said.

Article content

CANUC said its members have devised strategies to quickly scale domestic production if and when they receive high-volume military contracts.

Article content

For example, Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions has been stockpiling certain items, such as 2.5 years’ worth of parachute fabric, that have longer lead manufacturing times. It has also ramped up production over the past 12 months to try to get ahead of tariffs and potential supply chain disruptions, Ogden said.

Article content

“I want to know that at any point we can produce 10,000 units of our training drone system that we’re developing,” he said. “The less movement you have to do now, the better off you are. We made that bet last summer.”

Article content

Matt McRoberts, co-founder and chief executive of Kitchener, Ont.-based Pegasus Aeronautics Corp., which builds complete drone systems and the “guts of a drone,” from motor and flight controllers to powertrains and airframes, said some of its tech is patent-protected.