Leonardo to Provide Falcon Shield Anti-Drone System for Canadian Armed Forces
Defense News , Canada :- Leonardo has won a contract from Public Services and Procurement Canada to give the Canadian Armed Forces its Falcon Shield C-UAS system. The deal includes several systems and a 10-year maintenance plan with options for more equipment and developing new capabilities. The first systems will be sent later this year, and the Canadian Armed Forces will quickly deploy Falcon Shield to protect deployed personnel at forward operating bases.
Falcon Shield, a proven solution in the UK, addresses the threat from small, slow, and low-flying drones (group 1 to 3) that are hard to detect with regular air surveillance equipment. Using advanced sensors, the system quickly identifies, tracks, and prioritizes threats, allowing operators to effectively neutralize them.
Produced in Basildon and Southampton, Falcon Shield is already in use by the UK's Armed Forces and trusted by allies on operations. It is also available for export worldwide. Leonardo continuously updates Falcon Shield to stay cutting-edge in the evolving security landscape.
For the UK Royal Air Force (RAF), Leonardo has delivered seven complete baseline counter-drone systems, known as ORCUS in RAF service. These are part of the RAF's 'Synergia' research and development program and serve as a national standby capability for Emergency Services. The RAF has successfully used Leonardo's counter-UAS technology during high-profile events like the 2021 G7 summit and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Leonardo has collaborated with the United States Armed Forces, integrating the US Air Force Research Laboratory's NINJA technology into the RAF ORCUS system. This demonstrated the system's ability to detect and mitigate dozens of small drone platforms around airbases.
Leonardo will showcase Falcon Shield at Canada's 'Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems Sandbox 2024' exercise in June. The system will counter drones operated by the Canadian Armed Forces' 'red team' during the event in Suffield, Alberta.
