General Dynamics Canada awarded $341 Million Support Contract for Canadian Army Communications System
250 Calgary-based employees will provide multi-year engineering and integration services

OTTAWA, ON – General Dynamics Canada has been awarded the Long Term Support Contract (LTSC) for the Canadian Army’s Land Command Support System (LCSS), ensuring troops will continue to have access to advanced communications services critical to the flow of vital information in rapidly changing combat environments. Initially valued at $341 million, the competitively tendered five-year contract includes options to extend the support annually for up to five additional years, bringing the total potential contract value to $682 million.

"This is yet another example of this government providing the men and women of the Canadian Forces with the tools they need to do the jobs asked of them in modern military operations," said Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay. "This contract with General Dynamics Canada will partner the leading-edge knowledge of Canada's industrial sector with the needs of the Canadian Forces.”

In the mid-1990s, with the support of General Dynamics Canada, the Canadian Army became one of the first military organizations in the world to transition to a fully digital communications system. Since 2003, General Dynamics Canada has provided in-service support for this system, which is currently being used by Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.

“This Government knows that Canadian companies are among the most competitive in the world and we are working with them to protect jobs, stimulate the economy and provide top-of-the-line technology to our troops,” said Christian Paradis, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Through the LTSC, General Dynamics Canada and its partners will support the operation and maintenance of the currently deployed system at home and abroad and provide engineering services in support of periodic enhanced operational capability upgrades through the integration of new software and hardware elements. Committed to providing world-class support and technology, General Dynamics Canada has assembled a team of experts from across the country. These partners, from small, medium and large defence companies, represent the expertise that has made Canada a global leader in defence technologies.

“Nowhere is mission-critical communication more essential than on the battlefield where soldiers depend on real-time, accurate information to operate safely and effectively,” said John Watts of General Dynamics Canada. “We stand ready with all of the resources needed to provide the Canadian Army with the reliable communications technologies and support critical to enabling our soldiers to face any situation they encounter, wherever and whenever they need to.”

Work related to LCSS LTSC will be conducted at General Dynamics Canada’s high-tech facility in Calgary, a global centre of excellence in providing Command, Control, Communications and Integrated Sensor Systems. More than 250 of the company’s highly skilled technical staff will work exclusively on the program for the duration of the contract.

General Dynamics Canada is a premier provider of defence electronic systems and a leading systems integrator of complete Command, Control, Communications, Computing, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions. The company has established an international pedigree for excellence in the production of technology-based, integrated solutions for land, airborne and maritime applications. For more than 60 years General Dynamics Canada has been a trusted and reliable partner to Canada's Department of National Defence and more than 20 other allied nations where its tactical systems and products are currently in service. More information about the company is available at www.gdcanada.com.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., USA, employs approximately 92,300 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about General Dynamics is available online at www.gd.com..