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D-TA Systems says the government should use Canadian-made equipment in Arctic radar systems that detect incoming missiles.
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The liberal government is back in Canada’s Mud Technology for its new radar system and instead partners with Australia for a $6 billion project.
Ottawa’s D-TA Systems is a leader in producing land radar systems for businesses supplying the Department of Defense and the US military.
However, when Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on March 18 that Canada was purchasing such a system to detect missiles in the Arctic, he relied on Australians and the British company BAE to provide the technology.
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“It was a slap in the face,” said Dipak Roy, chairman of D-TA Systems. “It appears that this country is buying its own unique Canadian solution, which is a lack of pride from its citizens.”
The D-TA System was founded in 2007 and is involved in defense projects in the US, Canada, other NATO countries, and Japan. The company has been working on Hover-The Horizon radar since 2011 for a variety of DND and US military projects.
DND has already spent $30 million with the company to successfully create the feature, Roy said. Many systems are already available.
Roy noted that the Australian government owns intellectual property rights in the systems Canada purchases. In the case of D-TA radar, Canada has full control of such rights.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Laurent de Casanob, spokesman for Defense Minister Bill Blair, did not respond to a request for comment. DND officials did not provide comments before the deadline.
Alpine radar has the ability to monitor over a much larger range than conventional radar technology, as it extends its capacity by bounce back signals from the ionosphere, the Earth’s atmosphere layer that reflects the ionosphere. The minimum radar range is 500 km, but it is estimated that the maximum range can exceed 3,000 km. The system can track aircraft, missiles and surface vessels.
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DND originally estimated that elevated radars would cost less than $1 billion. We estimated that in 2024 it could cost as much as $3 billion. The Kearney announcement cost $6 billion, but there was no explanation for the significant budget increase.
Australian media point to the Canadian project as the largest defensive export contract in Australia’s history. Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marless told Australia’s Broadcasting Company that the contract would significantly boost the country’s defense companies.
Roy said that if Canadian companies are lucky, they will have a job in support. “DND believes that Canadian companies should be happy with secondary work, logistics, or antenna setup,” he said.
Roy said that D-TA was not consulted by the federal government in a meaningful way about the Horizon-Radar excess project, despite receiving funds to develop such a system. The Canadian government has also labeled D-TA as a success story that promoted and involved the development of unique industrial technologies.
With around 50 employees, D-TA Systems already provides work radar for Canada’s defense research and development, an Ottawa-based science institution at DND.
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Australia’s military currently has a Gindery Operations Radar Network. This is a high altitude system that can monitor air and ocean movements up to 3,000 kilometers. In 2018, the Australian government announced that it would spend more than $1 billion on system upgrades. Bae Australia is working on that project.
There is growing frustration among several domestic aerospace and defense companies that liberal governments are choosing foreign systems to pass Canadian technology.
Industry officials point out that there is a shortage of Canadian-made systems on new Canadian surface combat vessels. Originally, these vessels were equipped with a Canadian-developed command system called the CMS-330. Instead, however, the liberal government approved the use of American radar and command systems, giving the United States full control of the key capabilities of the Canadian Fleet.
Ottawa citizens reported in December 2020 that Canadian defense industry officials previously warned that then-DND Deputy Minister Jody Thomas and then-Deputy Minister of Procurement Bill Matthews of the potential dangers of US controlled technology and the lack of Canadian content on board Canadian face-to-face counterparts. However, these concerns were dismissed by department officials.
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Canada is under pressure from the US to spend more on defense. Since 2023, the liberal government has awarded more than $30 billion in defense contracts, most of which go to US companies.
But it did little to appease the US
US President Donald Trump has continually chosen Canada, claiming it doesn’t spend enough money on defense and doesn’t provide anything worthless to his country. Trump is threatening to damage Canada’s economy and has argued that the country should become the 51st state.
David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian military and military issues. To support his work, including exclusive subscriber content, please sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe
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