The Canadian navy might have trendy satellite tv for pc protection within the Arctic a decade sooner than envisioned if the federal authorities is keen to comply with the instance of different international locations and embrace industrial choices in house, a Home of Commons committee heard Monday.
Mike Greenley, chief govt officer of MDA Canada, informed committee members Canada has fallen behind the remainder of the globe from “a navy house functionality perspective” and isn’t successfully working with corporations within the aerospace sector.
“In consequence, our relevance in a quickly altering geopolitical world is declining, and together with it, our capability to guard and defend Canadians,” mentioned Greenley, whose firm is the most important within the nation within the house sector, with over $1 billion in gross sales yearly.
One of many pressing issues going through defence officers is the nation’s quickly growing older chain of government-owned RADARSAT Constellation satellites.
The federal auditor common warned in late 2022 that these satellites might outrun their helpful lifespan by 2026 and their substitute — referred to as the Defence Enhanced Surveillance from House Undertaking (DESSP) — is years away from getting off the bottom.
The Liberal authorities promised devoted navy surveillance satellites in its 2017 defence coverage and repeated the pledge in its newest technique doc — however the defence division’s venture standing abstract reveals the multi-billion greenback program isn’t set for launch till “past 2035.”
Greenley mentioned america and the UK have taken an method of constructing solely the house {hardware} they completely want, whereas shopping for the remaining from the personal sector.
Canada wants to begin doing the identical to keep away from lengthy delays in deploying crucial navy capabilities, he mentioned.
“Canada wants communications within the North, Canada has recognized procurement spend to buy house functionality for communications within the North circa 2038,” Greenley mentioned.
“In the meantime, Telesat will launch a worldwide communication functionality with satellites constructed by MDA House in 2027. If we had a dialog as we speak, it might doubtlessly be configured to ship navy communications within the Arctic a decade sooner as a industrial service — a decade sooner.”
The Commons defence committee is conducting a research of how the altering geopolitical and navy dynamics on earth are being mirrored in outer house.
Reviews recommend Russia planning to place a nuke in orbit
Of specific concern are studies that Russia is planning to place in orbit a nuclear weapon designed to destroy satellites.
A prime U.S. State Division official informed a Washington-based think-tank viewers final week that the Biden administration is fearful about one specific program, which Moscow claims is just a scientific program to check electronics.
“The USA is extraordinarily involved that Russia could also be contemplating the incorporation of nuclear weapons into its counter-space packages, primarily based on data deemed credible,” mentioned Mallory Stewart, who’s the assistant secretary of arms management, deterrence and stability.
She spoke on Friday on the Heart for Strategic and Worldwide Research (CSIS).
“The USA has been conscious of Russia’s pursuit of this kind of functionality relationship again years, however solely lately have we been capable of make a extra exact evaluation of their progress,” mentioned Stewart.
She went on to say that the aptitude isn’t energetic and has not been deployed, however however “Russia’s pursuit of this functionality is deeply troubling.
“There isn’t any imminent menace.”
Stewart’s remarks had been echoed lately by Brig.-Gen. Mike Adamson, the commander of the lately established third Canadian House Division.
He mentioned the studies are troubling and the Canadian navy is working with the American House Power and House Command to know the know-how and its implications.
“We do not imagine in the meanwhile that there is any imminent menace,” Adamson informed the Commons defence committee final week.
“It is most likely value stating as properly [that] worldwide regulation prohibits the location of nuclear weapons in house. So this might be a direct violation of that and positively counter to accepted norms of behaviour that we’d count on from any spacefaring nation.”
For the previous seven years, the Canadian navy has been on the lookout for methods to guard its satellites from being shot down or disabled.
Previous to the specter of a nuclear system in house (which might severely disrupt and even destroy a lot of satellites), western militaries had been focusing their consideration on ground-based rockets being developed by Russia and China to select off key communications and command gadgets in orbit.
