Canadian company plans to make land drones for Ukrainian military in deal that could be worth ‘tens of billions’

Skip to Content News Archives Economy Defence Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Defence Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Defence Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.HomeInnovationNewsEconomyDefenceCanadian company plans to make land drones for Ukrainian military in deal that could be worth 'tens of billions'Canada's Dominion Dynamics and Ukraine's Tencore will jointly manufacture the UGVs in CanadaA Ukrainian serviceman examining an uncrewed ground vehicle at a military training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region on March 13, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo by ANDRIY ANDRIYENKO/65th Mechanized Brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces/AFP via Getty Images filesCanadian defence technology company Dominion Dynamics Inc. and Ukraine‘s Tencore LLC say they will jointly manufacture uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) in Canada for the Ukrainian military.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountThe two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday at the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., and are hoping to ink a definitive agreement by the first quarter of 2027.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Eliot Pence, founder and chief executive of Ottawa-based Dominion Dynamics, expects the final agreement to be worth “tens of billions’ of dollars.SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: FP West: Energy Insider brings you behind the oilpatch’s closed doors with exclusive insights from insiders every Wednesday morning.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of FP West: Energy Insider will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again“The need and demand for UGVs in Ukraine is massive,” he said. “The Ukrainian government has asked for 20,000 alone. We’re also thinking about this in terms of the broader (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) alliance, as there is a clear need for autonomous systems in the Arctic.Kyiv, Ukraine-based Tencore, which makes UGVs, sometimes called ground robots or land drones, for defence and civilian use cases, has delivered around 5,000 units to the Ukrainian military since 2024.“We aim to scale that number up dramatically,” Pence said.The partnership will combine Tencore’s drone-making experience and Dominion’s AuraNet, a software system designed for Arctic operations, in the vehicles. Tencore would assign a team to lead the initial technology transfer and train technicians in Canada to build its UGVs by early 2027.The assembly and testing will take place at Dominion’s Kanata, Ont., facility, Pence said, while the components required to build the vehicles — from drivetrains to robotic and propulsion system parts — will be acquired from Canadian suppliers where possible.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.“We definitely have the parts available in Canada and for those that we don’t, we will endeavour to invest in,” he said. “But sourcing entirely from Canada is the intention.”In the near term, the two companies need to produce and test a few vehicles and Tencore needs to receive an export licence from Kyiv to authorize the technology transfer.“There’s a contribution by Ukraine in terms of intellectual property and demand, from Dominion in terms of productive capacity and from the Canadian government to actually acquire those assets and send them over there,” Pence said. “Those are the three (pillars) that need to actually get operationalized before we have UGVs with AuraNet on the battlefield in Ukraine.”Dominion has also advocated for converting idled automotive and electric vehicle plants in Canada for defence sector manufacturing. It previously expressed interest in taking over Jeep maker Stellantis NV’s Brampton, Ont., facility, but the carmaker last month inked an MoU to sell its plant to Canadian armoured vehicle manufacturer Roshel Inc.“We were very interested in Stellantis, but the reality is there are other facilities that are not in the middle of a union dispute or negotiations,” he said, referring to the automaker’s ongoing contract negotiations with Unifor. “Our timeline is much quicker and more rapid, so we just need to get moving.”This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Pence said Dominion is currently looking at three facilities in Ontario and Quebec to boost its manufacturing footprint to 450,000 square feet from 3,000 square feet, but conversations have centred around an aerospace and defence site in Toronto.“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be … aligning the defence industrial strategy with this kind of critical asset that we’ve built up over the last 60 years,” he said, pointing to similar activity in Germany.For example, Volkswagen AG has converted one former auto factory into a defence manufacturing hub and Rheinmetall AG is turning former auto and industrial plants into military and munitions factories.“I strongly believe that we should be doing the same,” Pence said.This advertisement has not loaded yet.Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. 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