Calian has announced a new strategic initiative aimed at developing and deploying sovereign C5ISRT (Command, Control, Computing, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Targeting) capabilities.
Calian said it would mobilize an initial $100 million to “accelerate Canada’s C5ISRT defence capabilities” through its Calian VENTURES.
Calian VENTURES was launched last fall and designed to help Canada’s small to medium-sized enterprises sell products and services to the Canadian Armed Forces.
VENTURES has three business streams including command and control decision support systems, autonomous systems, and space resource orchestration.
With respect to the funding, it will come “from multiple sources including capital investment from VENTURES, co-development of new intellectual property from Calian alongside multiple Canadian small to mid-size enterprise (SMEs), contributions from regional investment agencies, and federal programs.”
The first program to launch from the new initiative will “establish a national, sea-to-sea-to-sea network of regional development labs to accelerate the testing, validation and scaling of defence technologies developed through VENTURES.”
Calian also recently published a white paper on C5ISRT which discusses the current “geopolitical reality” and emphasizes challenges Canada must meet to protect itself.
Canada is no longer insulated by geography nor protected by unquestioned alliances. Long range weapons, cyber operations, space-based sensing and information warfare compress distance and time. The Arctic, once a remote buffer, is now a contested operational environment central to North American defence, alliance deterrence and Canadian sovereignty.
Patrick Houston, Chief Executive Officer, Calian said, “Canada is facing a fundamentally different security environment and meeting the moment requires sustained investment, trusted partners and long-term commitment. This investment reflects Calian’s confidence in Canada’s defence future and our responsibility as a Canadian company to help strengthen Canadian sovereignty as well as help build the Canadian defence industrial base.”
No timeline or specific funding was mentioned for the initiative.