-
Canada’s STEM Hub
Calgary has the highest concentration of STEM talent per capita in Canada.
-
700 NM²
Calgary is near the Foremost UAS Test Range, the first and only restricted airspace in Canada authorized for advanced drone testing with 700 sq. nautical miles.
-
Built for resilience
The Calgary region sits within one of Canada's most concentrated defence and training corridors.
Calgary’s Dual-Use Edge
Here, “dual-use technologies” mean tech that’s built for civilian markets but can also be repurposed for defence and security. Calgary’s cross-sector advantage pulls proven expertise from our established industries – including energy, aerospace, logistics and advanced manufacturing – into one ecosystem to move big ideas to validated solutions.
A local drone company, Canadian UAVs, produces drones used to inspect infrastructure, map land and support emergency response – showing how the same technology works in everyday industries and can be adapted for defence applications.
The Blue Sky City offers a rare combination of:
- An established engineering and manufacturing base
- Applied AI and cybersecurity adoption
- A skilled industrial and STEM workforce experienced in regulated, safety-critical industries
- A growing critical mass of primes and contractors fulfilling federal defence contracts
- Capacity for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) and cold-weather testing
- Lower operating cost
- Strategic location in Canada’s most concentrated defence and training corridor
- Global connectivity with direct air routes, continental rail and road network
Emerging defence strengths
Canada’s defence spending priorities are increasingly about sovereign capability – secure supply chains, readiness and technologies that work in complex environments. Calgary’s cross-sector strengths in our energy, tech and aerospace industries create the natural environment for our emerging defence industry to build new solutions that align with real procurement needs.
Uncrewed and Autonomous Systems
Maintenance, Repair and Overall (MRO) and In-Service Support
Training and simulation
Aerospace systems and components
Specialized manufacturing
Defence and aerospace primes in Calgary
Defence primes are already on the ground in Calgary – an important signal for program work, teaming and supply chain depth. These anchor companies create direct channels into Canadian programs and allied supply chains in collaboration with local small and medium-sized businesses.
Dual-use technology scaleups
ConvergX
ConvergX’s Xpand Commercialization Zone is built for companies that are past the prototype stage and need a faster path to defence use-case adoption. As a free resource for innovators, it fills the “last mile” gap by matching proven tech solutions with defence challenges, so companies can help fulfil defence contracts without starting over or navigating the system alone.
Aerospace Innovation Hub
Startups, SMEs and research‑driven companies use the Aerospace Innovation Hub to develop, test and commercialize aerospace and dual‑use technologies. Operated by Innovate Calgary, the hub provides startups access to accelerator programs, lab space, industry partnerships and commercialization support — to help companies move earlier‑stage innovations toward real‑world applications.
Canadian UAVs
Headquartered in Calgary, Canadian UAVs serves as a leader in unmanned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) services to the Canadian Armed Forces. The company is Canada’s only RPAS company granted BVLOS certification by Transport Canada and partners with local companies including Aerium Analytics, Lockheed Martin Skunkworks and Datsa Dynamics to translate its drones for applications in the energy and agriculture sector.
North Vector Dynamics
Calling Calgary home, North Vector Dynamics advances next-generation capabilities in hypersonic and propulsion technologies. The firm secured a $4.2 million federal defence contract to scale its work in counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS), designed to neutralize threats for military and security applications.
RPAS testing sites in the Calgary region
Proximity to large-scale test ranges, BVLOS airspace, cold-weather conditions and hazardous-use tolerances allow Calgary-based firms to quickly move from prototype to operational readiness.
BVLOS Innovation Centre
Calling Calgary home, BVLOS Innovation Centre accelerates the adoption of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) solutions. The organization helps companies achieve BVLOS approvals for operations.
Foremost UAS Test Range
Located three hours from Calgary, the Foremost UAS Test Range offers over 700 square nautical miles of Class F restricted airspace for BVLOS testing. With airspace extending up to 18,000 sq. feet above sea level, the range is a critical hub for high-altitude endurance private testing for drone technologies in defence, agriculture and long-range logistics.
Calgary MRO & In-Service support
Civilian and military aircrafts touch down to get fixed in Calgary. Here, maintenance and long-term support work happens close to the people, suppliers and facilities needed to turn repairs around quickly and reliably.
Arcfield Canada supports Canada’s CF-18 fleet, and Lufthansa Technik’s engine test cell facility at YYC adds major credibility for engine work – both reinforcing Calgary as a practical home base for sustainment work.
Arcfield Canada
Headquartered in Calgary, Arcfield Canada plays a direct role in keeping Canada’s fighter fleet ready by providing CF-18 avionics in-service support. In March 2024, the firm won a $211.6M federal contract to help sustain the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CF-18 fleet operationally ready with its supply of over 50,000 line items of spare parts.
Lufthansa Technik
Lufthansa Technik invested in Calgary’s MRO capacity with a $120M engine maintenance facility and integrated test cell at YYC International airport, bringing critical engine work onshore. The operation focuses service on LEAP-1B engines for Boeing 737 Max aircraft in Canada’s first test cell for latest-generation aircraft engines.
SAIT’s Centre for Innovation and Research in Advanced Manufacturing and Materials
SAIT’s Centre for Innovation and Research in Advanced Manufacturing and Materials (CIRAMM) helps companies and researchers prove advanced manufacturing concepts – so ideas don’t get stuck in the lab. Through academia-industry partnerships, the centre specializes in additive manufacturing, materials, AI, robotics and automation solutions.
SAIT’s NATO DIANA partnership
Calgary is part of NATO’s innovation network. SAIT’s CIRAMM is a designated NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) centre, sharing expertise and knowledge on shared critical defence and security challenges among NATO’s partner network.
Aerospace components & defence electronics
Calgary builds reliable secure electronics and control systems that keep fleets communicating and operations running.
Our industrial and energy roots have built a deep culture of safety-critical quality, traceability and uptime – which is why anchors like Dynamic Source Manufacturing and Evans Consoles call the city home.
Dynamic Source Manufacturing (DSM)
Calgary-based DSM designs and builds high-reliability electronic assemblies—including circuit boards and components used in tactical communications, such as electronics that support tactical radios.
Evans Consoles
When operations depend on people seeing, deciding and acting without delay, Evans Consoles delivers mission‑critical operator consoles used in environments like air traffic control and control rooms — built for uptime and long service life.
Quantum City
Startups, researchers and industry partners use Quantum City to develop and apply next-generation quantum technologies. The hub focuses on the development of quantum infrastructure, talent development programs and commercialization pathways – supported by partners like QAI Ventures which invest in and accelerate applied quantum solutions.
Vizworx
Calgary-based Vizworx translates complex data into applied AI and data visualization tools. Supported through the Government of Canada’s Regional Defence Investment Inititiative (RDII), the company is advancing dual-use digital systems for both commercial and defence applications.
Calgary’s defence corridor infrastructure
Calgary has deep military roots – and today we sit inside Canada’s most concentrated defence and training corridor that links military bases, training facilities, research and operations. This proximity matters because it makes collaboration and testing easier to organize – and faster to execute.
AIR FORCE
4 Wing Cold Lake is the busiest Canadian Armed Forces fighter base in Canada, and currently tests CF18 fighter jets maintained by Calgary-based Arcfield Canada.
ARMY
Three hours from Calgary, the Canadian Forces Base in Suffield is the largest military training area in Canada with 2,700 km² of restricted testing space.
NAVY
Located in the heart of Calgary, HMCS Tecumseh supports naval reserve training as one of Canada’s five naval training bases.
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Home to Canada’s fourth-busiest airport, the YYC Calgary International airport supports 75 per cent of Alberta’s cargo apron, designed to handle all weather conditions.
