Canada's Leader in Defence and National Security S&T;

Defence R&D; Canada (DRDC) is an agency of the Canadian Department of National Defence responding to the scientific and technological needs of the Canadian Forces. Its mission is to ensure that the CF remains scientifically and operationally relevant. The agency is made up of six research centres located across Canada with a corporate office in Ottawa. DRDC has an annual budget of $300 million and employs 1500 people. With a broad scientific program, DRDC actively collaborates with industry, international allies, academia, other government departments and the national security community.

Groundbreaking Defence Technologies

The broad scope of exceptional research undertaken at Defence R&D; Canada is reflected in ground-breaking defence technologies.

Ferreting out sniper threats
Recently deployed in Afghanistan, the FERRET provides the Canadian Forces with better protection against snipers. The FERRET is a passive acoustic system for the detection and localization of small-arms fire at long ranges. The system is composed of a three-dimensional microphone array mounted on the rear of the turret of the Coyote light armoured reconnaissance vehicle. The system processes the sound signals and shows the results on a hand-held terminal by means of a graphical and numerical display.

Diving in greater safety
The level of safety built into diving equipment can make a big difference for divers. DRDC introduced into service within the Canadian Forces, the Canadian Underwater Mine-countermeasures Apparatus (CUMA), enhanced with the Auxiliary Gas Supply System and Canadian Clearance Diving Apparatus rebreathers. Specially designed for use in mined waters, CUMA gear differs from regular scuba gear in that it contains no metallic features that may trigger magnetic mines, and uses a process called rebreathing that recycles the diver’s breathing gas, eliminating bubbles that can trigger acoustic mines.

Lying in wait
One of DRDC’s most exciting developments in underwater warfare is the prototype of a new generation of sonobuoys that are able to hide on the ocean floor. Designed to lie on the bottom in coastal waters until some event causes it to rise to the surface, the Stealth Buoy uses the Global Positioning System to calculate its location on the surface of the earth and the Iridium satellite system to transmit data.

More information on Defence R&D; Canada's R&D; Program can be found in the Research & Technologies section.

Working for a Safer World

Defence R&D; Canada's chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence research is designed not only to protected the Canadian Forces from CBRN attacks, but also the Canadian public and the world at large.

CBRN Research & Technology Initiative (CRTI)
As a step towards improving protection against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents (CBRN), Defence R&D; Canada is co-ordinating a five-year S&T; fund. CRTI will enhance co-ordination and collaboration across three Canadian research sectors: government, private industry and academia to improve Canada's ability to respond to CBRN incidents. More information on CRTI can be found on their Web site.

Counter Terrorism Technology Centre (CTTC)
The Counter Terrorism Technology Centre will be constructed at Defence R&D; Canada - Suffield over the next two years. This facility will be used to train first responders from across Canada in case of a biological or chemical event. Several theatres and mock-up sites will be built to provide hands-on training scenarios for emergency crews. More information about CTTC can be found on its Web site.

Award-winning Research

The research of our defence scientists and technicians is recognized by national and international awards.

Awards, Honours, Medals and Fellowships From:

The Technical Co-operation Program
Canadian Academy of Engineers
Acoustical Society of America
Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute
Chemical Institute of Canada
Royal Society of Canada
Federal Partners in Technology Transfer
NATO Research and Technology Organization
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

More information about our award winners can be found in the 2004-2005 Annual Report.

Canadian Collaborations and Partnerships

A leading member of Canada's S&T; community, Defence R&D; Canada is a member in over 60 national S&T; councils, networks and forums, as well as initiating and supporting collaborative research ventures.

• Approximately 50 percent of our annual budget is invested in collaborative programs with Canada's private sector and academic community.
• We leverage our S&T; base to serve clients outside of the Department of National Defence generating in excess of $3.5 million in new revenues annually.
• Our research efforts often result in technology transfers to the private sector.
• We are one of Canada's largest producers of patents within the federal government.

More information on collaborations and partnerships with Defence R&D; Canada can be found in the Doing Business with Us section.

International Partnering

Regarded as a partner of choice by the international defence S&T; community, we are involved in over 300 international defence S&T; working groups and collaborative research forums. Our participation in such forums not only allows us to exchange new knowledge and expertise, but also heightens Canada's profile on the world stage as a leader in technical innovation and scientific excellence.

The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP)
An international research forum made up of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, TTCP involves over 850 scientists with Defence R&D; Canada contributing to over 70 technological initiatives.

NATO Research and Technology Organization
Facilitates collaborative research with other NATO members.

Public Security Technical Program (PSTP)
In June 2003, DRDC initiated the Public Security Technical Program (PSTP), which aims to develop a coordinated program to enhance collaboration across government and to deliver science and technology solutions across many dimensions of public security. The PSTP embraces a two-pronged approach, with a Canadian program that includes many federal government departments and agencies, and a Canada/United States program, which engages the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.