Draft by Sophie Tremblay, Mediawall.news
The Canadian government has inked a $25 million contract with Ottawa-based Arcturus Dynamics to supply surveillance drones for the Royal Canadian Navy’s aging Halifax-class frigates, marking a significant shift in Canada’s maritime defense strategy.
The contract, announced yesterday by Defence Minister Anita Anand, will see the delivery of 24 specialized maritime drones by mid-2026. These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will extend the surveillance capabilities of Canada’s primary naval workhorses, which have been in service since the 1990s.
“This represents the first major integration of domestic drone technology across our naval fleet,” Anand said during the announcement at Arcturus headquarters. “Canadian-built solutions for Canadian security challenges.”
I reviewed the 50-page contract document obtained through access to information requests. The agreement includes not just the aircraft, but comprehensive training packages, maintenance systems, and specialized maritime launch and recovery equipment designed to function in harsh North Atlantic conditions.
The deal comes amid growing concerns about increased Russian submarine activity in the Arctic and North Atlantic. Canadian Forces intelligence assessments from March, shared with me by a senior naval officer who requested anonymity, documented a 40% increase in foreign submarine contacts off Canada’s eastern seaboard over the past 18 months.
Rear Admiral Timothy Sullivan explained the operational advantages: “These drones give our ships eyes beyond the horizon. They can stay aloft for 12 hours, operating in conditions where helicopter flights would be impossible, and at a fraction of the cost.”
The Halifax-class modernization has been a contentious issue in defense circles. The frigates, originally scheduled for replacement beginning in 2026, will now remain in service until at least 2035 due to delays in the Canadian Surface Combatant program.
“We’re patching gaps with technology,” said Elinor MacDougall, defense policy analyst at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. “These drones are necessary, but they’re being grafted onto platforms that are fundamentally aging out.”
The drones themselves represent significant technological advancement. Weighing just 65 kilograms with a 5-meter wingspan, they can carry multiple sensor packages including thermal imaging cameras, maritime radar, and signals intelligence equipment.
What caught my attention in the contract specifications was the inclusion of artificial intelligence capabilities for autonomous target identification – a first for the Canadian military. This raised questions during the press conference, with journalists pressing on the rules of engagement for such systems.
“These are surveillance platforms only,” stressed Commodore Jean-François Létourneau, Director of Naval Requirements. “While they use AI for maritime pattern recognition, all targeting decisions remain firmly in human hands.”
Arcturus Dynamics has been developing military-grade UAVs since 2016, primarily for Arctic monitoring. Company CEO Sarah Nguyen highlighted that the systems are designed with Canadian conditions in mind.
“Our drones are built to operate in freezing spray, gale-force winds, and electromagnetic interference conditions specific to northern latitudes,” said Nguyen. “We’ve tested them off Newfoundland in January – if they can fly there, they can fly anywhere our navy operates.”
The contract has not been without controversy. Documents from the Procurement Ombudsman’s office, obtained through a judicial challenge filed by industry watchdog Public Sector Accountability, show that two competing bids from European manufacturers offered lower initial costs.
“The government paid a 15% premium for Canadian content,” noted procurement specialist Thomas Richler from the University of Ottawa. “That’s defensible from an industrial policy perspective, but significant when defense budgets are stretched thin.”
The Halifax drones represent just the first phase of a broader naval unmanned systems strategy. Naval planning documents filed with the Parliamentary Budget Office indicate intentions to develop underwater drones and autonomous surface vessels over the next decade.
Commander Patricia Weber, who leads the Navy’s Unmanned Systems Integration Office, shared that the Arcturus drones will be deployed first to frigates operating in the North Atlantic starting January 2026, with Pacific Fleet integration following in summer 2026.
For sailors, the technology brings welcome capabilities but additional workload concerns. Leading Seaman Marcus Turner, who participated in early trials aboard HMCS Fredericton, told me during a dockside interview: “We’re already stretched thin on personnel. These systems are fantastic, but who’s going to maintain and operate them? We need the training and bodies to match the technology.”
The contract includes provisions for 35 new civilian technical positions at CFB Halifax and Esquimalt to support the drone operations, addressing some but not all of these concerns.
As climate change opens new Arctic shipping routes and resource extraction opportunities, Canada faces mounting pressure to monitor its vast maritime domains. With the longest coastline in the world and limited naval assets, these drones may represent a cost-effective solution – if they can be successfully integrated into operations.
The true test will come not in the procurement, but in the deployment. As the Halifax-class frigates enter their fourth decade of service, these Canadian-built drones will attempt to bridge the capability gap until new vessels finally arrive.
