On 28 January 2025, Vanguard held its 11th annual C4ISR and Beyond conference in Ottawa with a theme of “Building Trust in Developing Decision Advantage”. The day-long conference was hosted live with over 320 people in attendance plus simultaneously streamed to another 85 virtual attendees from government and industry. 

The conference opened with LGen (Ret’d) Michael Rouleau. He shared how last year’s theme on interoperability and integration would continue, and that this year’s conference would focus on geostrategic and national developments. Discussions included the Our North Strong and Free (ONSAF) policy, subtle shifts in warfare, and the evolving role of industry in supporting CAF/DND through more open and innovative approaches. It also examined strategies for modernizing our partner and threat ecosystems to ensure that the CAF remains strong and increasingly relevant. 

LGen Stephen Kelsey, the Vice Chief of Defence Staff was opening keynote speaker. He reflected on 30 years of Managed Readiness as an operating posture and its irrelevance in the current global geopolitical climate, including Ukraine, Taiwan and Moldova. The CAF, and our Allies, must focus on deterrence, he noted. We are in competition with our adversaries, and we need to re-orient immediately. He highlighted three areas of strategic effort:  

1. Information advantage leading to war-fighting advantage exemplified by a need for greater Cyber effects. We must change our opponent’s calculus on their probability of success by leveraging our competitive warfighting advantage. Joint Fires and their enablers, coupled with information advantage, will deter our adversaries. Efficiently packaged tanks and fighters and Battle Groups will not. We also need a shift in mindset and avoid preoccupation with more defense procurement funding while rapidly adjusting priorities to maximize the short time available.  

2. The Defence Services Program (DSP) is what brings the Department and the Government together through a common ambition and builds trust among decision makers. Through a pan-domain approach, the CAF seeks to create information advantage by building trust and sharing information with Allies and Partner – Interoperability. However, we need to understand that this includes not just technical standards but procedural, cultural and philosophical shifts to building trust across the institution and our military enterprise.  

3. The CAF needs to get away from a Project Management approach that is linear and binary. We collectively want and need change and acknowledge that greater risk acceptance is an attractive quality. Leadership needs to move with imagination to close gaps faster, managing risk and moving through the discomfort with institutional approval. Digitalization of our systems, processes, mindset and approach is fundamental to success. 

Modernizing the Force 

Panel 1 The Service Chiefs was moderated by Brig Ed Sandry UK Defence Advisor to Canada. He opened the discussion by suggesting that the CAF are recognized amongst the Allies as producing some of the finest leaders of the martial profession. 

LGen Mike Wright, Commander Canadian Army’s theme remains that the army of today must be prepared and equipped for the future. Although the current army is dedicated, it must modernize to be credible, interoperable, digitally enabled, scalable and agile to meet the Canadian government’s needs. Out of the 47 capital projects the army is currently sponsoring the four equipment priorities are: Long Range Precision Strike – Land (LRPS-L), which is progressing well and is intended to provide new capabilities; Indirect Fires Modernization (IFM), which will provide the modern and scaled-up equivalent to capabilities the army has; Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD), which the commander is trying to accelerate to replace capabilities the army divested of and needs in Lativa and elsewhere now; and Domestic Arctic Mobility Enhancement (DAME) which will replace and improve upon current capabilities.  

Such capabilities must be supported, enabled and complimented by the digitalized C4ISR outputs to the Brigade Communications and Information Systems Urgent Operational Requirement, Land Command Support System Life Extension, Tactical Communications Modernization, Tactical Command and Control Information Modernization, Combined Joint Intelligence Modernization, Joint deployed Headquarters and Signal Regiment Modernization and Canadian Forces Land Electronic Warfare Modernization projects. 

Upgrading the C2IS backbone will enable the other four priorities to deliver timely, informed and networked effects. Army modernization is aligned with FVEY’s army efforts via the US Army’s Project CONVERGENCE and related efforts to consolidate C2IS systems and harness AI/ML for analysis and timely effects. Canada’s army must be interoperable with allies on day zero and sustain expeditionary operations even when supply lines to Canada are challenged. Modernization and restructuring efforts will involve all levels of command – division, brigade and unit. The outcomes will be a field force that is relevant, credible and interoperable. 

MGen Jeff Smyth, Chief Fighter and NORAD Capability highlighted that the RCAF is moving forward following three policy directives (SSE, DPU, ONSAF) introducing multiple new platforms as well as Space capabilities. The policy and programs behind these directives represent the largest investment in the RCAF since World War Two. Of primary concern is the missile threat from polar regions – NORAD needs to see and react across the spectrum – sense, shield and act. To enable these operational functions, a tactical-to-enterprise mesh network connecting any sensor to any shooter is required of which USAF cloud-based command and control (CBC2) represents the US side of NORAD capability. Ultimately, the Comd RCAF seeks warfighting advantage with an ability to prosecute operations across the modern battlespace – no blind spots. 

As Commander of the recently established CAF CYBERCOM, MGen Dave Yarker holds multiple mandates including Offensive Cyber Operations (OCO), Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO), Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and Electronic Warfare (EW). He sees his role as enabling friendly-force decision advantage. The Command will continue to grow and mature into its roles while balancing effects from the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE) and Allies in US Cyber Command. Joint EW is an area that has lacked a strategic champion for decades and will have to be resourced as RCAF and RCN platforms become operational. The Command acknowledged that Cyber Command cannot compete with industry for talent, the CAF must attract interested personnel and train them in a given specialty. 

Cmdre Jason Armstrong, Director General Naval Force Development (DGNFD), acknowledged that the RCN needs to be able to “fight tonight” and hence the RCN must modernize the existing fleet as it awaits the new platforms in the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) program. It is expected to deliver between 15 and 22 multi-mission Destroyers. Also anticipated is a replacement program for the Victoria-class submarines which may ultimately deliver between eight and 12 patrol submarines. 

All Commanders agreed that our requirements capture process is inadequate as the majority of the requirements are obsolete or outdated before they are consolidated. Predicting In-Service Support (ISS) costs is equally challenging. The institution must move to a Continuous Capability Sustainment (CCS) model of support (which was ultimately addressed in Panel 4). 

Adapting to the Contemporary Operating Environment 

Panel 2 The Operational Commanders, was moderated by Kevin Newman, a well-known news anchor and journalist. 

This panel exchanged ideas in a very free-flowing manner following the moderator’s questions. A post-quantum decrypted information space where there are no more secrets was first addressed. With artificial intelligence (AI) having access to information across society there are serious concerns about our collective ability to triage information about our operational environment and the actions of our adversary. In some cases, AI has already taken the place of programmers. MGen David Abboud, Commander Intelligence Command and Chief of Defence Intelligence suggested that we are data rich but information-hungry, suffering from data-paralysis. We have multiple layers of sensors but at this point we lack the AI/ML tools to exploit the data.  

USAF Maj Gen Mark Piper, Deputy Director of Operations, NORAD suggested that while we seek instantaneous access to common data through AI and ML, human decision making will play a key role in the decision-action cycle. All panelists agreed that solutions exist, and we must find efficient ways to leverage as there are serious consequences to falling behind. That means pursuing non-traditional channels of innovation and changes to process and mentality. Connectivity with our Allies through Pan-Domain C2 (PDC2) leading from interoperability to interdependency was also highlighted. A new term – C5ISR-T including Cyber and Targeting emerged from USAF, building on C4ISR. MGen Simon Bernard, Deputy Commander CJOC, questioned how we will expand national infrastructure across the north to meet our security ambitions in a semi-permanent posture. As a closing comment it was recognized that the Allies are operating just below the threshold of armed conflict. We are not at war with the Russians, but they are at war with us. 

An Update on Polices, Procedures and Experimentation in the Digital Space 

Panel 3 was the logical extension of how the CAF seeks to digitalize with an examination of Digital Services and Experimentation, moderated by Christiana Cavazzoni, ADM and Chief Digital Officer, Fisheries Oceans Canada. The CAF’s project-centric approach to capability management was identified as a challenge while early collaboration with industry on existing/proven solutions may be a better model. Ross Ermel, Assistant Deputy Minister Digital Services, stated that the C2 “Business Owner” needs to be involved in order to scale from the enterprise to the tactical edge of information, an enterprise cloud environment that is not vendor specific. Common approaches to Data Centric Security (DCS) will facilitate the information advantage that Allies seek. MGen Peter Dawe, Chief of Combat Systems Integration (CCSI), highlighted the criticality of the experimentation being conducted on Project OLYMPUS and Operation HIGHMAST where Canada will be deploying HMCS Ville de Quebec with the HMS Prince of Wales UK Carrier Strike Group in the spring of 2025. This experimentation will contribute significantly to the CAF’s pursuit of Allied interoperability and Pan-Domain Command and Control (PDC2) decision advantage over our adversaries by establishing Data-Centric Security policies and refining technical standards. Dominic Rochon, DM and CIO at Treasury Board Secretariate highlighted the importance of robust security policy to protect Canada’s interests, but admitted that policy must adapt to changes in technology. 

Changing the Approach to Defence Procurement 

Panel 4 was moderated by Dave Perry, President and CEO, Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI) and addressed the evolution of procurement. Wendy Hadwin, ADM Policy Industry at DND spoke of building trust to achieve decision advantage and how the DND/CAF must remove barriers to information exchange. Simon Page, ADM Defence and Marine Procurement at PSPC, suggested that we collectively must position our ambition to be at the leading edge of technology and innovation and change our requirements capture process to match. Innovative approaches are obvious and available should the leadership choose to embrace them. MGen (Ret’d) Nancy Tremblay, ADM Materiel, highlighted six major Land and Joint programs totalling $10 billion that have recently cleared Program Management Board (PMB) and moved into Definition – precursors to Command Canadian Army’s four initiatives.  

An attempt was made to define how to define a “Strategic Partnership” model and how industry would support DND/CAF beyond existing frameworks. Sibhan Harty, ADM Defence Procurement Review acknowledged that the Defence Procurement Strategy (DPS) is 10 years old and requires a refresh alongside the forthcoming Defence Industrial Policy. All agreed that engaging with industry, including small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) early and often in modified, flexible and timely procurement process would be ideal. Continuous Capability Sustainment (CCS) should be the standard rather than the exception. 

In summary C4ISR and Beyond 2025 was a natural continuation from the previous year. World events are shaping up to be unlike any other before, trust will be key factor for the defence ecosystem in developing the war fighting advantage. It will come down to strong partnerships and frank dialogue for innovation and modernization to succeed.