The Canadian Armed Forces conducted a rigorous evaluation of nearly twenty drone manufacturers in a remote location west of Ottawa on Wednesday. The event, named RED COBALT Uncrewed Systems Accelerator 2026, allowed military personnel to test various types of aerial, ground, and maritime drones, along with long-range precision strike systems. Lt.-Gen. Darcy Molstad, overseeing the military’s joint forces command, mentioned that twenty companies, with eighteen being Canadian, participated in the demonstration at a test range in Killaloe, Hagarty, and Richards, Ontario.
A key criterion for selecting participating companies was Canadian ownership or partnerships, aligning with the federal government’s defense industrial strategy. While Canadian suppliers are innovative, much of the advanced drone technology and experience are concentrated in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Molstad expressed confidence that Canadian companies can meet the military’s technological requirements and emphasized the need for agile partnerships due to the rapid evolution of drone technology.
The military is specifically seeking aerial reconnaissance and surveillance drones, ground drones capable of navigating complex terrain, and maritime platforms for surface and subsurface warfare. Additionally, they are interested in acquiring precision deep-strike capability, a feature that Ukraine has effectively used in targeting Russian oil facilities.
The Canadian military has been relatively slow in adopting dedicated drone capabilities, despite their increasing presence on battlefields over the past two decades. It wasn’t until 2023 that the federal government signed a contract with General Atomics to procure 11 MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones, scheduled for delivery beginning in 2028. The military has also recently acquired a fleet of 50 Teal 2 micro drones for local surveillance. Furthermore, the government announced the construction of a $30-million military drone research and development facility in Mirabel, Quebec, last month.