Kongsberg Geospatial Signs MoU with Hanwha Defense USA to Partner on Upcoming Canadian Land Systems Programs

OTTAWA, ON, CANADA, June 10th. Building on KONGSBERG and Hanwha’s international collaboration on vehicle digitization and integration of Command, Control, Communication, and Information Systems, Kongsberg Geospatial (KG), the Canadian subsidiary of Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace (KDA), will take responsibility for integrating the ICS software development for Canadian land programs. This relationship will further strengthen global ties and generate significant Canadian content for many years to come. The resulting relationship will create strong economic impacts, meaningful partnerships, and job creation in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, and mark KG as a software center of excellence for Canadian Army programs.

KG will tailor and support the ICS solution, which has embedded KG's made-in-Canada TerraLens (TL) Software Development Kit (SDK). TL will enable ICS to visualize virtually unlimited track data with real-time precision from inside their vehicles, allowing commanders to make informed decisions for countering threats. ICS is a future-oriented digital solution for combat platforms. Variants of ICS are in operational use today by close allies such as USA, Australia, Norway, Finland to name a few which drastically reduces deployment risk for Canada. This investment by KG to provide made-in-Canada software demonstrates our commitment to align with the Canadian Armed Forces Digital Campaign Plan. Introduction of ICS in Canada could open doors for additional development of the solution for K9 artillery, and generate work, training, and maintenance opportunities in Canada.

Hanwha has a full line of land systems and munition solutions that can be quickly and affordably delivered to meet Canadian Army urgent and future operational requirements, including the K9 Thunder Self-Propelled Howitzer, the K10 Ammunition Resupply Vehicle, the Chunmoo Multiple Rocket Launch System, the Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle, the Taipers Anti-Tank Guided Missile, the BiHo Air Defence System and the KMCS propellant.  Hanwha, with more than 100,000 employees globally and 91 subsidiaries, is Korea’s 7th largest company and the largest defence company in South Korea. Hanwha’s defense systems have already been adopted and deployed by numerous NATO/EU/FVEY nations.

The ICS is a complete system providing a fully digitized platform for both new and existing vehicles and platforms. Flexibility is at the core of ICS, and it is built to be completely platform agnostic and easily adaptable and scalable. The solution inherently supports complex platforms where crew members work tightly together to execute their mission across a range of subsystems, as well as simpler single user setups. On the K9s,ICS integrates all subsystems into a holistic, total system, significantly increasing crew efficiency and reducing reaction times. The vehicle itself is integrated as a subsystem, as well as allowing all other subsystems access to vehicle information (and vice versa where applicable). ICS’s proven configuration significantly improves the operational capabilities of the K9howitzers.

"It's truly remarkable to contribute to KG’s expanding footprint in Canada and to explore new markets on multiple fronts. With the MoU signed with Hanwha, we are excited to introduce a world-class digital integration platform for the urgent and future land programs of the Canadian Army," explained Tuhin Das, Director of Business Development, Canada, at Kongsberg Geospatial.

“Hanwha is pleased to be embarking on this voyage with Kongsberg in Canada.  We see multiple capabilities that Canada is needing and the synergy from a Hanwha-Kongsberg collaboration would play a significant part in the Canadian Army’s modernization aspirations”, James Kim, Senior Director of Business Development, Hanwha Defence.