Vanguard Magazine

E EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW UNMANNED TRAINING SYSTEMS and future battle spaces Projected onto a screen in a conference room in Medicine Hat, a video shows unmanned fast attack craſt skimming across the water near Esquimalt. The video is an excerpt from a Discovery Channel feature on the first large- scale "swarmex" demonstration which simulated the threat of 16 fast in-shore ident and general manager of Meggitt Training Systems Can- ada, is understandably proud of the 2010 accomplishment, which showcased the company's Hammerhead target boats controlled on a single radio frequency. The Hammerheads, smaller versions of Meggitt's larger Barracuda naval target, replicate a threat all too common for navies operating in con- tested littorals via a universal target control station. As one of the pioneers in simulated training, Meggitt attack craſt. Spencer Fraser, pres- Training Systems Canada has been providing unmanned tar- gets to air forces, armies and navies for decades. Its systems have been key to joint and multinational exercises such Tri- dent Fury and the Canadian army's Potent Knight Air De- fence. One of its Vindicator II unmanned aerial vehicles was retired to the Canadian War Museum in 2010. And because of its ability to attract international customers for its land, sea and air systems, Meggit garnered an export award of distinction from the Alberta Chamber of Commerce. Fraser, a former naval officer with extensive experience in weapons performance measurement and the use of drones for test and evaluation, spoke with Vanguard about the un- manned training systems sector. Q Canada's pedigree in unmanned systems, especially training systems, might surprise people. If you look at Canada's history, we have been world leaders since the beginning. Few are probably aware that the CL289 is Cana- da's largest military export ever. It was a Canada-West Germany- France high speed drone that was just decommissioned last year. The Germans flew up to 70-80 percent of the reconnaissance mis- sions in Kosovo in 1999. It flew 400 knots, on the deck, with precise cameras. It wasn't real-time but it was leading edge. And our Vindicator II is kind of the Beaver aircraft of its time. It's been sold to 12 countries, hundreds have been produced, and it's as relevant today as when it first came out because it replicates a whole multitude of exigent threats that are facing armed forces. Q This has required a strong relationship with the R&D community, has it not? What role as technology transfer from Defence Research and Development Canada played? The reason we are in Medicine Hat is because of DRDC Suffield. Look at the number of companies that are DRDC spinoffs – L-3 WESCAM, CAE. I would suggest there is not a single player in Canada that has not benefited in some way from DRDC. Cana- dians like to beat up on the federal government but we have had fantastic support. In fact, as a nationalist, I would ask many com- panies: "Where did you receive your seed funding?" Q Is that support permitting Canadian companies to compete internationally in the unmanned systems market? Photos: Meggitt Training Systems Canada 22 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2012 www.vanguardcanada.com

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