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Why it matters: Ice grounds drones. Most small and mid-sized uncrewed aircraft are built for fair weather, which limits how much the Canadian Armed Forces and other northern operators can rely on them for Arctic surveillance and patrol.
Driving the news: Volatus Aerospace has signed a memorandum of understanding with Calian Group and Instrumar. The three will evaluate ice detection, de-icing and Arctic-hardening technologies for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), the companies announced Nov. 4.
The agreement is non-binding and carries no money. It runs for one year, and the partners can renew it by mutual written agreement.
The details: Each company brings one piece of the system.
Volatus, based in Mirabel, Que., is the UAS partner. It will contribute input on aircraft applications, operational requirements, user needs and Arctic hardening. It will also offer demonstration opportunities and possible routes to evaluation and integration.
Calian, of Ottawa, makes an electrically heated de-icing laminate that is already used on antenna systems in the Arctic, including in support of DND and the CAF. The partners will look at whether the laminate can be adapted, tested and built into uncrewed aircraft.
Instrumar, of St. John’s, N.L., will contribute expertise in icing detection. That covers sensing, monitoring and the technical requirements for what the companies call smart-skin applications.
What they’re saying: “You cannot protect against ice you cannot sense,” said Leigh Puddester, CEO of Instrumar. “Together, we have an opportunity to explore an integrated system where the aircraft can sense what is happening on its surface and respond accordingly.”
“Calian developed de-icing technology to enable reliable operations of antenna systems in extreme conditions,” said Russ Beaudin, vice-president of defence at Calian. “This collaboration gives us an opportunity to explore how that proven Canadian technology, already in use, could be adapted for UAS platforms, operating in some of the harshest environments.”
“Reliable uncrewed operations in the Arctic require technology that is designed for the realities of extreme environments,” said Glen Lynch, CEO of Volatus.
Background: Instrumar says its ice sensor detects both conventional icing and supercooled large droplet icing. The company says the sensor has been validated in National Research Council icing wind tunnels and in flights aboard the NRC’s Convair 580 research aircraft.
Instrumar has also worked with Honeywell Aerospace. One result is an aircraft de-icing monitoring system that holds an FAA alternative method of compliance.
The bigger picture: This is the latest of several non-binding agreements Volatus has signed this year. It signed MOUs with Sentinel R&D on an interceptor drone in March, with UCan Brave Tech on Canada-Ukraine defence technology in May, and with Concordia University’s Volt-Age program on UAS energy technologies in July.
In September, Volatus won a five-year federal contract through Stream 1 of the Defence Drone Initiative Marketplace. It will supply low-cost tactical ISR drones to the CAF, starting with 100 systems and with options for up to 4,900 more.
Others are working on the same problem. Norway’s UBIQ Aerospace says Norway’s Ministry of Defence has approved its D-ICE electrothermal ice protection system for UAS.
What’s next: The companies said any demonstrations, testing, aircraft integration, funding applications or commercialization would need separate agreements. Each would also depend on technical feasibility and regulatory approvals.
The companies have not said which Volatus aircraft could carry the technology or when testing might begin.
