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uncrewed systems

BOREALIS logo with a maple leaf lit by northern lights, Canada's defense innovation program behind the new drone hub

Canada Launches BOREALIS Hub to Accelerate Military Drone and Autonomous Systems Development

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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.

Digital Union Jack with soldier, jet and warship silhouettes in glowing data networks, UK military AI taskforce RAID launch

UK Launches Taskforce RAID To Speed AI Into Its Armed Forces

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The new unit reports directly to the Chief of the Defence Staff and is exempt from standard financial and procurement controls.

 

The UK Ministry of Defence launched the Rapid AI Delivery Taskforce, known as Taskforce RAID, on June 10. The unit’s job is to get AI tools into the hands of British soldiers, sailors and aircrew faster than standard defense procurement allows. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the launch during London Tech Week, alongside Defense Secretary John Healey.

 

First targets: intelligence and planning

The taskforce will start with a short list of operational problems tackling two key areas: 

  1. AI that processes intelligence data fast enough to support live decisions.
  2. AI built into military planning, enabling commanders to produce and adapt battle plans at the speed modern operations demand.

The government also wants uncrewed systems, such as drones, to take on dangerous tasks in place of personnel.

 

Taskforce RAID can bypass standard controls

Taskforce RAID reports directly to the Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton. It can skip some of the standard spending approvals and procurement rules that normally govern defense purchases. The Ministry of Defence says internal policies and a new expert advisory group will provide oversight. It has not said which controls are waived or what limits remain.

The new AI Expert Advisory Group will comprise technical, ethical, and operational experts and will build on the ministry’s existing Ethics Advisory Panel.

 

A wider door for UK tech companies

The taskforce will work with British tech companies, including smaller ones, to lower the barrier to entry into defense contracting. The first named partner is Rowden, a Bristol engineering firm that builds sensing and information systems for the British Army and other government customers. The release notes that Rowden recently received £25 million from the National Wealth Fund, a government-owned investor. That investment was announced in May, weeks before the taskforce existed.

 

Defense-wide order to move faster

Healey issued a memo the same day directing every part of the Ministry of Defence to identify where AI can improve operational effectiveness and speed up decision-making. Both moves follow the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, which committed the UK to a shift toward AI and autonomy across its forces, including a protected Defence AI Investment Fund and a digital targeting web for the Army by 2027.