Canada has awarded Telesat a 2.3-billion Canadian dollar contract to provide secure satellite communications for the Canadian Armed Forces across the Arctic.
Canada has awarded Telesat a 2.3-billion Canadian dollar ($1.6 billion) contract to provide secure satellite communications for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) across the Arctic.
Awarded under the Enhanced Satellite Communications Project – Polar (ESCP-P) program, the 15-year contract will provide the CAF with Military Ka-band (Mil-Ka) connectivity beginning in 2028.
It also includes two five-year options worth about 200 million Canadian dollars ($142 million) each, bringing the contract's potential value to 2.7 billion Canadian dollars ($1.92 billion).
The award is Telesat's largest to date and expands its planned Lightspeed low Earth orbit satellite constellation from 156 to 225 satellites.
“This contract ensures the Canadian Armed Forces will have access to secure, resilient and sovereign connectivity years earlier than originally planned, at a great value for money, and with a scalable architecture designed to meet future global operational requirements and support interoperability with Canada’s allies and partners,” said Dan Goldberg, company president and CEO.
Expanding Arctic Connectivity
Under the contract, the CAF will receive secure Mil-Ka communications across Canada's Arctic, covering latitudes between 65 and 90 degrees north.
The capability is intended to support military operations in remote northern regions with resilient, low-latency connectivity.
The broader ESCP-P program also includes user terminals, ground and control infrastructure, training, and support services, which will be covered under a separate agreement.
69 Additional Satellites
The contract funds the addition of 69 Telesat Lightspeed satellites, increasing the constellation's size by about 44 percent.
The satellites will be manufactured by MDA Space in Montreal and launched aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets.
According to Telesat, the expanded constellation will support both commercial and military communications and is designed to meet Canada's Arctic requirements while enabling interoperability with NATO allies and partner nations.
