With the militarization of space accelerating, the Department of National Defence (DND) is turning to the private sector to solve a critical vulnerability: keeping satellites talking when an enemy tries to interfere with them.
The department launched a new procurement challenge Tuesday, offering up to $2 million for Canadian companies to build prototypes that shield Low Earth Orbit (LEO) communications satellites (SATCOM) from malicious interference, specifically in “contested” or combat environments.
This is the first procurement through Innovative Solutions Canada Challenge Stream following the announcement by Prime Minister Carney this morning of Canada’s new Defence Industrial Strategy.
The current problem DND faces is that current commercial LEO systems lack sufficient defense against adversarial radio frequency (RF) interference (jamming). Military options exist but are costly and resource-intensive.
DND is looking for solutions that use adaptive beamforming (smart antenna technology that focuses signals to avoid interference) and must be tested against various jamming scenarios (single tone, swarm jamming, etc.).
The challenge is for Phase 2 (Prototype Development) and must be between Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 5 and 9. The project duration is up to 12 months and DND said it estimates it will award two contracts.
The closing date is March 31, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. EDT.