Tech, aerospace sectors starting to really take off in southeast Alberta

Posted on October 3, 2024 by Ryan Dahlman

By Collin Gallant
Southern Alberta Newspapers

The tech and aerospace sector in southeast Alberta is beginning to build its own gravity, according to economic observers who point to a number of recent announcements.

The wide open skies, presence of the military and early action to create the Foremost unmanned vehicle testing range have been highlighted for a decade or more as a major pull for investments into the region.

Now, substantial development contracts, high profile competitions and award nominations are following, says Tracy Stroud, regional innovation manager with Community Futures Entre Corp.

“There is a lot of excitement this summer; a lot of big wins – global wins – for local companies,” said Stroud, who works in conjunction with APEX Alberta, the regional innovation network sponsored by the Alberta government.

“They are moving to that next stage. It feels like there is a real lift in the region.”

Two Hat-based companies were in the running last month for a provincial “Aerospace Innovation” award.

The ASTech Awards were created 35 years ago to recognize achievements of the Alberta technology sectors in dozens of areas.

This year, long-operating local firm QinetiQ Target Systems and newer entry Landing Zones, comprised two of four nominees for provincial tech-sector awards at the University of Calgary.

Last winter, Atlantis Research Labs successfully launched a high-altitude prototype vehicle from a test site at CFB Suffield with teams from the University of Calgary.

Another Redcliff-based developer, UVAD, announced a development agreement this summer with defence giant, Raytheon, to develop its unmanned target vehicle the Falcon.

That is part of Canada’s Industrial Benefits program.

“The investment from Raytheon is a key component of our overall funding program,” UVAD president David Birkett said in a release. “Combined with our in-house world-class supersonic and hypersonic engineering skillsets, it will help ensure the success of Falcon.”

Helping with the success of the sector in the region are anchors on either side of Medicine Hat: the test range at Defence Research Defence Canada at Suffield and the UAS unmanned range at Foremost, said rural aerospace development manager Roger Haessel.

“They represent both sides of the industry” with defence and commercial development areas, he said. “It’s one of the really special assets in southeast Alberta. They’re unique and really hard to replicate.”

In June, the Department of Defence hosted developers, defence contractors and potential buyers in a drone and defence sandbox competition at CFB Suffield.

Next year, Medicine Hat will host a national student competition of the Aerial Evolution Association of Canada.

Stroud says that will bring more than 100 top aerospace engineering students in Canada to Medicine Hat to showcase projects, along with companies interested in hiring and commercialization.

In August, Landing Zones announced it had developed a system, dubbed GITPO, that features returnable aircraft that could replace single-use weather balloons. About 20,000 such balloons are launched annually in Canada, and 600,000 worldwide.

Landing Zones was founded in 2022 by CEO Spencer Fraser and has since worked with notable defence contractors Airbus Defence and Lockheed Martin Canada.

Medicine Hat’s QinetiQ is a subsidiary of the global defence contractor and is nominated for its Rattler supersonic target vehicle that was recently tested by the U.S. military at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

Other nominees for the provincial awards are Illumia Labs, which provides training programs, and Wyvern, which analyzes satellite data to track environmental conditions and climate change related to wild fire suppression, invasive species, emissions and crop health.