Canadian military should turn to private sector for space surveillance tech, MPs told ( www.cbc.ca )

The Canadian military could have modern satellite coverage in the Arctic a decade earlier than envisioned if the federal government is willing to follow the example of other countries and embrace commercial options in space, a House of Commons committee heard Monday.

Mike Greenley, chief executive officer of MDA Canada, told committee members Canada has fallen behind the rest of the globe from "a military space capability perspective" and is not effectively working with companies in the aerospace sector.

"As a result, our relevance in a rapidly changing geopolitical world is declining, and along with it, our ability to protect and defend Canadians," said Greenley, whose company is the largest in the country in the space sector, with over $1 billion in sales annually.

some_guy ,

Because governments can't do shit on their own. /s

spyd4r ,

I think a private company with a controlling stake from a certain country would be best. /s

azi ,

Yes! More surveillance! More secret radio chatter! Rip up the Outer Space Treaty! Let the superpowers play chicken with orbital nuclear bombardment! A lazy dog over every child's head!

ininewcrow ,
@ininewcrow@lemmy.ca avatar

At this point .... it would probably be cheaper for the government to just throw them $100 million in cash and tell them to not bother anyone.

Otherwise, government will just spend the next ten years wasting away a few billion dollars on hot air making someone extremely rich and raising share holders profits for no real benefit to Canada at all.

cygnus ,
@cygnus@lemmy.ca avatar

Headline should be "private company says government should give it money"

girlfreddy OP ,
@girlfreddy@lemmy.ca avatar

Lots and lots of money. Like so much money the CEO would become part of the 0.1% club.

CanadaPlus ,

Yup. Even if they're right, shame on CBC for reporting it this way.

From this it sounds like we have a project already underway, anyway.

autotldr Bot ,

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The Canadian military could have modern satellite coverage in the Arctic a decade earlier than envisioned if the federal government is willing to follow the example of other countries and embrace commercial options in space, a House of Commons committee heard Monday.

"As a result, our relevance in a rapidly changing geopolitical world is declining, and along with it, our ability to protect and defend Canadians," said Greenley, whose company is the largest in the country in the space sector, with over $1 billion in sales annually.

The federal auditor general warned in late 2022 that those satellites could outrun their useful lifespan by 2026 and their replacement — known as the Defence Enhanced Surveillance from Space Project (DESSP) — is years away from getting off the ground.

The Commons defence committee is conducting a study of how the changing geopolitical and military dynamics on earth are being reflected in outer space.

"The United States is extremely concerned that Russia may be considering the incorporation of nuclear weapons into its counter-space programs, based on information deemed credible," said Mallory Stewart, who is the assistant secretary of arms control, deterrence and stability.

"The United States has been aware of Russia's pursuit of this sort of capability dating back years, but only recently have we been able to make a more precise assessment of their progress," said Stewart.

The original article contains 706 words, the summary contains 224 words. Saved 68%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

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