Today, the Department of National Defence awarded contracts to enhance the operational capability of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and global military satellite communications.
Two contracts have been awarded to General Dynamics Canada Ltd. (Ottawa, Ontario) for the Mercury Global project. The first contract is for the design-and-build of the Mercury Global anchor stations valued at $59.1 million. The second contract provides ongoing in-service support and is valued at $8.5 million.
Building on the 2012 announcement of Canada’s contribution of $337.3 million as part of a Memorandum of Understanding, Canada is now entering the anchor segment of the Mercury Global project. The anchor stations will communicate with the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite constellation and link them to existing CAF communications infrastructure. Mercury Global will provide the CAF with assured access to wideband military satellite communications. The CAF will ultimately have access to bandwidth from the nine satellite constellation and utilize three anchor sites located in Eastern, Central and Western Canada.
As stated in the Canada First Defence Strategy, the CAF must maintain their readiness to defend Canada and our interests at home and abroad, to the highest standards in order to deploy immediately at the request of the Government of Canada. The Mercury Global solution provides the most effective way of meeting this capability requirement for domestic and expeditionary operations.
“The ability to rapidly exchange information in today’s modern military operations at home and abroad is critical to the mission of our Canadian Armed Forces. The Mercury Global project will lead to significant cost savings for the military, more efficient access to information for the troops on the ground, and better in-theatre communication during periods of conflict. It’s just one more indication of our Government’s commitment to providing our men and women in uniform with the equipment they need to get the job done.”
The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls and Minister of National Defence
Media Relations
Department of National Defence
Phone: (613) 996-2353
Toll-Free: 1 866 377-0811
