Ukraine crisis brings MDA project to a halt

A Canadian communications and information company says the political and military crisis in Ukraine is having an adverse effect on its business there.

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. said Russia’s occupation and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region has caused it and an unidentified Ukranian customer to declare force majeure in regard to a contract for a ground segment project of a communications satellite program.

By declaring force majeure each party officially recognizes they cannot fulfill contractual obligations due to unexpected circumstances beyond their control.

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, in announcing the delaration, said both parties are evaluating ways to minimize the impact of the situation in Ukraine. The results of the evaluation will show the impact on the cost and the schedule of the program.

A Preliminary impact estimate projects a four-to-six month delay in the communications project.

The situation with Russia and Ukraine, however, has not affected the company’s communications satellite payload program in Russia, MDA said.

“The company's communications satellite payload program in Russia is well advanced,” MDA said. “One satellite has been launched and the payload for the second satellite is in final integration. There has been no impact to this project.”