Aliter Technologies, a Slovak-Canadian information technology company, has won a NATO contract worth up to $238 million to supply information and communications technology (ICT) equipment and related support services.

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) awarded the deal, the company announced Oct. 8. It is an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract with firm-fixed percentage discounts and prices, so NATO can place orders as its needs arise, up to the ceiling.

The award is five times the size of Aliter’s previous largest NATO deal, a €30-million IDIQ contract. Ervin Haramia, chairman of the board of directors at Aliter Technologies, said the company won it in open competition.

“Sixteen years ago, we became the first Slovak company to sign a framework agreement with NATO. Back then, we had to prove that we could deliver. Today, we competitively won a contract worth more than our entire annual turnover,” Haramia said.

The company reported revenue of more than €71 million in 2025.

A long climb

Aliter became the first Slovak ICT company to sign a basic ordering agreement with the NCIA in 2010. The framework allowed it to compete for agency work, and it has since signed several contracts with the alliance.

The company also contributed to NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance program, which operates RQ-4D Phoenix drones from Sigonella, Italy. In 2023, it signed a framework agreement with the European Maritime Safety Agency.

NATO assesses its suppliers continuously on the quality of their deliveries, their adherence to deadlines and the standard of their support. Erik Flotischler, chief sales officer at Aliter Technologies, said that record is what gets a company in the door.

“Security clearances and years of proven deliveries are among the entry conditions,” Flotischler said. “This contract is not a reward for a single good bid; it is the result of 16 years of discipline.”

Canadian footprint

Aliter says it employs almost 200 people in Slovakia and more than 80 in Canada. The company has completed more than 300 projects, by its own count, and lists Airbus, BAE Systems, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman among its customers.

Its work spans secure ICT infrastructure, tactical communications, cybersecurity, custom software and unmanned systems. It also builds high-speed, energy-independent communications links for remote areas, a capability relevant to Arctic operations.

Aliter says its products meet U.S. military (MIL-STD) standards and are certified for deployment in NATO environments.

Bigger picture

The NCIA, headquartered in Brussels, is NATO’s main agency for acquiring and running the alliance’s communications, information technology and cyber systems. Its contracts are open only to companies from NATO member countries.

Demand for that work is set to grow. At the 2025 summit in The Hague, allies agreed to raise defence spending to five per cent of GDP by 2035, with up to 1.5 per cent going to defence-related infrastructure, resilience and secure networks.

For Canadian-linked firms, NATO agencies offer a market well beyond Ottawa’s own procurement pipeline. Aliter’s award shows that a mid-sized supplier with the right clearances and a long delivery record can win at scale.