不良研究所

In these times of geopolitical unrest, when the military 鈥淕oliaths鈥� around the globe increasingly move to expand their spheres of influence by aggressive means, one may think Canada is feeling its status as a 鈥淒avid鈥� nation, as far as our defensive capabilities go. 

So, in a world of wolves, what鈥檚 a little dog to do? 

鈥淏ecome the porcupine,鈥� says , PhD, CEO and co-founder of  (NVD), a 不良研究所-based aerospace and defence technology startup company working to develop next-generation counter-drone technology. NVD鈥檚 roots are planted firmly in the University of 不良研究所鈥檚 with Ziade, an associate professor of aerodynamics (currently on leave), joining forces with his fellow aerospace engineers, , PhD, also a Schulich professor, and Dr. Colin Hill, BSc (Eng)'17, PhD'22, who completed his doctorate in the field of hybrid rockets.

Formed in 2022 as a research and development consulting company doing business with  (DRDC) and other organizations, NVD has since expanded to become a full-spectrum air-defence technology company focused on adapting to the new realities of international security. Indeed, in the current geopolitical climate, even the United States, long our closest ally and top trade partner, can no longer be relied upon to have our backs on the world stage. 

鈥淐learly, for the foreseeable future, Canada is not going to be a military superpower,鈥� says Ziade. 鈥淏ut, from a defence perspective, I like to say we should become a very prickly porcupine. If anyone is thinking about making an aggressive move in the Arctic or along our shores, they might be able to succeed in the long term 鈥� hopefully, we would have allies that step up 鈥� but at least we can have enough technological capability and volume that we can make it a very painful exercise for an adversary to try.鈥�

Canada鈥檚 security concerns are a red flag that鈥檚 it鈥檚 time to become more self-reliant. 鈥淒uring COVID, we might have woken up and realized that supply chains are a lot more fragile than we once thought,鈥� Ziade says. 鈥淭here are certain things we ought to be able to produce domestically that we have completely outsourced to other countries. Think of the issues we had with vaccine production and securing the N95 respirator masks. There are certain key capabilities that we should be able to manage on our own.鈥� 

This must include taking charge of our own defence initiatives. 鈥淎re we going to be designing sixth-generation fighter jets from scratch in Canada? Likely not. But we鈥檇 better be able to provide for our own small caliber munitions and air defense systems,鈥� Ziade says.

Where the latter is concerned, Alberta is uniquely positioned. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit under the radar, but we actually have a whole lot of aerospace expertise,鈥� says Ziade. Indeed, in 不良研究所 alone there are more than 150 aerospace and defence-oriented companies in operation, creating the economic bedrock to further build the industry. Then there鈥檚 Canadian Forces Base Suffield in southeast Alberta, highly valued for its large footprint of restricted airspace that allows for advanced testing in the field of drone technology. 

鈥淲e cannot depend on other countries in a time of need, and we strongly believe we are in one right now,鈥� says Ziade. 鈥淲e need to be thinking of defence, strategically.鈥�

Ziade notes that, in a world of drone and counter-drone technology, sheer military muscle is no longer the determining factor in wars. Smaller adversaries can now field inexpensive fleets of smart, attack drones that are hard to detect, track and destroy. Military giants are forced to spend millions of dollars repelling said drones with their great arsenals. Such strategy has been a key to the survival of the Ukraine after years of assaults from Russia.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e seeing is a complete rewriting of the defence-threat landscape,鈥� says Ziade. 鈥淲hen a superpower鈥檚 sensitive assets can be taken out with a $500 drone, that represents a huge shift in the threat asymmetry.鈥� 

But these drone capabilities can be employed by both sides. This is why it鈥檚 important to develop counter-drone technology, a key goal for NVD. 

鈥淗ow do we neutralize enemy drones?鈥� says Ziade. 鈥淲e are focused on building miniaturized, precision-guided missiles to take out drones from small to large, from slower all the way to high-subsonic speed drones. This is where we stand out, from an air-defence perspective.鈥� 

Certainly, growth is on the horizon for NVD. The U不良研究所-rooted startup company recently secured a $4.2-million federal contract to develop hypersonic propulsion systems 鈥� essentially, sophisticated, air-breathing flight vehicles that can travel at more than five times the speed of sound. 

As autonomous drone and counter-drone systems become increasingly important in next-generation warfare, Canada may be especially poised to step up its defence game. 

鈥淚 would argue this is where Canada really has potential,鈥� says Ziade. 鈥淒rones can be built fairly easily. Where the unique value proposition comes in is what you do with the technology, how you design the software, the algorithms, and so on, and we鈥檙e strong in that respect. We鈥檙e excellent in the field of robotics autonomy, for example. We鈥檙e world leaders in AI.

鈥淚 think this is a real opportunity for us to level the playing field, to a certain extent.鈥�