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For immediate release: December 17, 2003 MDA to Demonstrate Underwater Tripwire System to Protect Canadian CoastlineRichmond, B.C. - MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX: MDA) announced today that it has been awarded a $3.6 million technology demonstration contract from Defence Research Development Canada Atlantic (DRDC Atlantic), an agency of Canada's Department of National Defence. The Company's Information Systems Group will research, develop, and demonstrate the Rapidly Deployable System (RDS), an automated method of detecting illegal immigrants, drug traffickers, and military threats present along Canada's rugged, often isolated coastlines.The RDS demonstrator will include a low-cost sonar system that can be rapidly placed along the ocean floor, to detect and identify surface and subsurface vessels. Once intercepted, detailed information on a target and its location will be sent to the Department of National Defence via secure satellite link, for appropriate action. The demonstration system will be deployed by the fall of 2005, along a region of Canada's coastline for testing and analysis by DRDC Atlantic personnel. Over the past two decades, MDA has successfully delivered a number of operational underwater surveillance systems to the Canadian Navy. This latest contract underscores the Company's ability to develop advanced, cost-effective technologies for Canada's military, while addressing real world problems that affect all citizens. Attachment: Simulation of MDA's coastal defence technology demonstrator http://www.mda.ca/news/pr/mda_security_system.html
Related Websites: For more information, please contact: Cindy Kiehn Communications MacDonald Dettwiler E-mail: info@mda.ca |