OTTAWA, June 2 (UPI) -- EADS Canada has announced that its Cassidian division will develop technologies to protect Canadian navy ships from laser weapon threats.
The contract under the Laser Optical Countermeasures and Surveillance Against Threat Environment Scenarios project, was awarded by the Defense Research Development Canada, Valcartier in Quebec.
"LOCATES" aims to counter increasing threats by laser designators and laser-guided weapons which are widely distributed and easy to operate.
A prototype system, which will include technologies under development with the Canadian research and development agency, will be included in the countermeasure system and field tested by 2013.
"EADS has a longstanding relationship with Canada and especially with the Canadian research community," said Pierre Delestrade, president and chief executive officer of EADS Canada.
"Together with the DRDC, EADS' defense and security division, Cassidian, is focused on providing the Canadian forces with the state-of-the-art technologies they will need to face future threats."
Cassidian capitalizes on a wide-ranging experience in the field of platform self-protection in the electro-optic spectrum. The company has developed laser warning devices for ships, aircraft and land vehicles which are in operation with several NATO armed forces.
EADS is a pan-European group with offices and subsidiaries around the world, including Canada and the United States.
