Canada awards $2.3B Arctic military satellite communications contract

Canada has awarded a $2.3-billion initial contract to Telesat Leo ULC to strengthen military satellite communications in the Arctic. The company is working with MDA Space on the project.

The Enhanced Satellite Communications Project-Polar will use Telesat’s Lightspeed low-Earth-orbit system to provide the Canadian Armed Forces with secure and resilient communications in the Arctic and other high-latitude regions. The network is intended to support NORAD operations, allied missions, Arctic situational awareness and search-and-rescue work.

The contract follows initial engineering and planning work under a federal partnership with Telesat and MDA Space announced in December. Telesat plans to add 69 satellites to its constellation, bringing the number in production from 156 to 225.

MDA Space will help build satellites at its Montreal manufacturing facility and will be the prime contractor for end-to-end mission delivery. It also has a Richmond facility associated with the project’s ultra-high-frequency and X-band constellation services.

The federal government says the project could create or sustain 2,600 jobs annually across Canada and add $355 million a year to the economy over about seven years, including opportunities for small and medium-sized space and defence businesses.