The CTA will be part of the Secure Defense Innovation Hub dedicated to unmanned systems (CSID UxS)

Mirabel (Québec), July 14th, 2026 – National Defense / Canadian Armed Forces

An Espace Aéro-led consortium will receive $29.6 million over two years to establish and operate the UxS DISH. The consortium includes 30 organizations from industry, academia, and the not-for-profit sector. Through the hub, participants will collaborate to accelerate the transition of promising Canadian technologies from research and development into field-ready solutions that support Canada’s defence and security priorities.

DISHs are secure, mission-oriented hubs established to enable collaboration between government, industry, and academia in support of Canada’s defence and national security priorities. They are intended to address a persistent gap in the defence innovation ecosystem by helping innovators overcome barriers to engaging with defence organizations. DISHs provide trusted environments, infrastructure, and services that support the design, testing, validation, and transition of advanced technologies toward operational use.

Sponsored by the Canadian Joint Forces Command (CJFC), the UxS DISH will provide a secure environment where government, industry, academia, and innovators can collaborate to develop, test, validate and integrate emerging uncrewed and autonomous systems technologies into operational capabilities. CJFC was created to address gaps in how joint capabilities are generated, developed, managed, and sustained to facilitate a centralized approach to improve coherence, accountability, and innovation.

LED CONSORTIUM CSID UxS

The CSID UxS consortium is led by Aéro Montréal through Espace Aéro and includes partners from Canada’s aerospace, defense, and innovation sectors. The consortium was selected through a competitive call for proposals that took place from February 18 to April 2, 2026. The CSID UxS builds on the success of the CSID Maritime pilot project and represents another important step in the implementation of BOREALIS, as well as in Canada’s broader effort to strengthen sovereign innovation capabilities through collaboration among government, industry, and academia.

The main participants are as follows:

Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE)
Consortium de recherche et d’innovation en aérospatiale au Québec (CRIAQ)
Aéroports de Montréal
CAE
ARA Robotics
Balko Technologies
Beonyx Robotics
C3RiOs
Groupe CS Canada
Centre de Technologies Avancées BRP – UdeS
DARIT Technologies
Laflamme Aéro
Marconi Technologies
Octasic Inc.

“Drones are changing the way modern militaries operate, and Canada must be ready to develop, test and adopt these technologies at speed. This new Defence Innovation Secure Hub will bring government, Canadian industry, academia, the not-for-profit sector, and the Canadian Armed Forces together in a secure environment to turn promising Made in Canada ideas into mission-ready capabilities that support Canada’s defence priorities.”
The Honourable David J. McGuinty, Minister of National Defence

“The Defence Innovation Secure Hub will enable Quebec’s aerospace industry to maintain its position as a global leader in uncrewed systems while leveraging its expertise to support the Canadian Armed Forces in addressing critical needs. This is a tremendous recognition of the strength of our ecosystem and the attractiveness of the Espace Aéro innovation zone, which drives continuous innovation through exemplary collaboration among all local stakeholders.”
Mélanie Lussier, President, Aéro Montréal et Espace Aéro

“Carrying on the legacy of its founders, BRP and the University of Sherbrooke, the CTA combines a culture of innovation, the commercialization capabilities of a world-class manufacturer, and scientific rigor. This exceptional combination positions the CTA as a leader in dual-use autonomous mobility, capable of operating on all terrains: road, off-road, snow, water, and even in space.”
Eric Charlebois, Executive Director, CTA

Quick FACTS

Canada is committed to strengthening its defence industrial base to ensure the Canadian Armed Forces have timely access to the equipment and capabilities they need.
The Government of Canada is modernizing how it delivers defence and national security innovation through the creation of the Bureau of Research, Engineering and Advanced Leadership in Innovation and Science (BOREALIS).
Defence Innovation Secure Hubs (DISHs) provide secure environments where trusted partners can collaborate, conduct research, test technologies and address defence and security challenges.
Uncrewed systems are identified as one of Canada’s sovereign capability priorities under the Defence Industrial Strategy.
The UxS DISH supports collaboration among government, industry, academia, and innovators to strengthen Canada’s defence innovation ecosystem.
Funding will support the security upgrades, infrastructure, and collaborative activities required to enable sensitive defence research and innovation at the UxS DISH.
The UxS DISH is designed to support the maturation, testing, validation, and integration of emerging technologies into operational capabilities for the CAF.
The UxS DISH’s work plan will focus on:
- Uncrewed systems and counter-uncrewed systems;
- Automation and human-machine teaming;
- Operations in contested environments; and
- Sensor integration.
Joint capabilities are military functions and resources that span multiple domains, such as land, sea, air, cyber, and space, and are used collectively by different branches of the armed forces
CJFC brings together people, systems, and expertise from across the CAF to develop and integrate joint capabilities that support operations across all domains.