MDA signs military communications maintenance contract

RICHMOND, B.C.—Communications and information company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) has signed a contract with a California-based satellite company ViaSat Inc. to repair, maintain and upgrade ViaSat’s Link 16 military communication terminals.

The Link 16 terminals are currently deployed across Canada by the Canadian Department of National Defence.

“As one of the largest Canadian-based aerospace and defence companies, MDA has extensive experience delivering large complex programs including in-service support to the Canadian government and we look forward to expanding our capabilities in this area in support of ViaSat,” said Norman Hannaford, MDA’s general manager responsible for this business line.

MDA will use its existing facilities across Canada to perform this operational support, resulting in a decreased maintenance time, and reduced cost to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The repair and maintenance service will grow into an intermediate maintenance facility (I-Level), as additional terminals and radios are deployed throughout the CAF.

“We look forward to working with MDA to establish a Canadian repair and maintenance facility, especially as our Link 16 radios—from MIDS-LVT, Small Tactical Terminals, MIDS JTRS, and other next generation products—become increasingly deployed throughout the region,” said Ken Peterman, ViaSat’s senior-vice president and general manager of Government Systems Division.
The new facility will provide an in-country resource, which we expect will shorten repair and upgrade cycles as well as reduce overall maintenance costs to the customer.”