In a time of heightened strategic competition, compounded especially in the Arctic and North by the effects of climate change, Canada is investing in the modern military capabilities needed to deliver security to Canadians at home and protect Canadians’ interests around the world.
The Government of Canada’s 2022 announcement of a nearly $40 billion investment to modernize the capabilities of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will significantly strengthen our ability to monitor, assess, and respond to rapidly evolving threats to North America, in close collaboration with the United States and northern partners in the region.
Of the $38.6 billion that is being invested to modernize NORAD, $4.23 billion has been earmarked for Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) over 20 years. $1.28 billion of these funds will be spent in the first phase through NORAD modernization science & technology (S&T) funding, which will be delivered in the next three and half years. NORAD modernization S&T funding is meant to both enable and future-proof NORAD modernization initiatives and support the ongoing evolution of capabilities to address broader continental defence threats and challenges across all-domains.
Preparing for emerging threats and capabilities like quantum in a changing world requires new perspectives, new approaches and collaboration. Enhanced knowledge and capabilities in emerging domains requires reaching into networks of expertise outside of the military and assuring innovators that they will see a return on their investments in research and development alongside future use by the Canadian Armed Forces.
Enter the Department of National Defence’s Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program. Positioned to enhance Canada’s defence and security posture and military capabilities through private sector innovation, the program has funded more than 750 projects and spent more than $411 million since 2018 in a variety of domains.
Having supported the innovation space for almost seven years, the IDEaS program brings two key components to the table:
1) the network to catch big ideas in their infancy, and,
2) the machinery to fund and fast track the best technological solutions.
Armed with the additional funding in support of NORAD modernization S&T efforts, the program is poised to strike quickly to address pressing needs.
The program recently launched its first in a series of NORAD modernization challenges. The new challenge focuses on five aspects key to Canada’s continental defence:
1) Quantum,
2) Autonomous technologies,
3) Counter uncrewed aerial systems,
4) Arctic mobility, and,
5) Sustainable and scalable energy systems.
More challenges will be rolling out in the near future, to support a broader range of priorities to strengthen continental defences and Arctic security announced in the Our North, Strong and Free defence policy. The innovative outcomes and technological solutions resulting from these challenges will augment the investments Canada is making in capabilities like specialized maritime sensors, early warning aircraft, a satellite ground station in the Arctic, ground-based long-range missile capabilities, and a series of Northern Operational Support Hubs to ensure a more robust, year-round presence in Canada’s North.
With only three and a half years to deliver the first phase of innovation investments in support of NORAD modernization, and with the pace of change continuing to accelerate, challenges will be coming fast and furious through the IDEaS program and, in the end, the scientists, researchers, engineers, and others participating in these challenges will have helped build a framework to positively impact the Canadian Armed Forces for the years to come.
For more, visit: Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS)