The new center in Quebec will receive C$29.6 million over two years to help government, researchers, and industry test uncrewed and autonomous systems in secure environments.

Canada launched a new defense innovation hub focused on military drones and autonomous systems as part of a broader effort to speed the adoption of new technologies by the Canadian Armed Forces.

The Department of National Defence announced Tuesday that a consortium organized by Quebec aerospace innovation group Espace Aéro will receive C$29.6 million over two years to establish and operate Canada’s new Uncrewed Systems Defence Innovation Secure Hub, or UxS DISH. The project will be based primarily at the YMX Innovation Centre in Mirabel, Quebec.

The consortium’s proposal, known as the National UxS Capability Acceleration Hub, or NEXUS, will create secure facilities where companies, researchers, and the military can develop and test drones and other autonomous technologies.

BOREALIS is Canada’s defense innovation program. It is building a network of secure facilities where government agencies, companies, researchers, and the military can work together on emerging technologies and move projects from research into operational use.

Officials said the UxS DISH will allow companies, researchers, and the military to test autonomous technologies in secure, realistic conditions before they enter service.

The project is sponsored by the Canadian Joint Forces Command, which coordinates military capabilities across land, sea, air, space, and cyber operations and will help ensure the research remains tied to operational needs.

The UxS DISH builds on a pilot program announced in late 2025 and is part of BOREALIS, which received C$68.2 million last year. While the new hub focuses on drones and other autonomous systems, the government plans to establish additional secure hubs dedicated to artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, space, and Arctic operations.