By Kelsey Gallagher
Published in The Ploughshares Monitor Spring 2025
The Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) is a Crown corporation that supports the Canadian private sector in winning export contracts with foreign governments. Its biggest portfolio is defence and aerospace and its biggest customer, in most years, is the US Department of Defense (DOD).
As set out in the Defence Production Sharing Agreement between the United States and Canada, all potential contracts to export Canadian military goods to the United States valued at more than US$250,000 must be brokered and facilitated by the CCC.
In fiscal year (FY)2024 (April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024), the CCC signed contracts with the US DOD totaling $1.08 billion, a marked increase of 22.4 percent over the previous year’s total, and 24.8 percent over the total for FY2022. In many cases, individual awards reported by the CCC in a given fiscal year are smaller subawards tied to larger prime contracts that are being executed over several years.
Following are the top Canadian military suppliers to the US DOD through CCC-brokered contracts in FY2024. All data was accessed via Access to Information and Privacy requests. All additional information on individual awards was obtained through CCC or US government press releases or secondary sources.
This data does not include CCC-brokered military contracts to other foreign nations; it does not, for example, include the $418,000,000 sale of 55 Canadian-made light armoured vehicles to Colombia that was brokered during the period under analysis.
1. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (OTS) – Canada, Valleyfield Inc. - $623,494,903
Far and away the largest Canadian supplier to the US DOD in FY2024 was General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS)-Canada, Valleyfield Inc. The $623,494,903 total is the largest value awarded to any single military producer through the CCC to the US DOD in the last several years, accounting for more than half the value of all of Canada’s defence-related contracts to the US DOD in FY2024.
GD-OTS has four Quebec-based plants. According to the CCC, the GD-OTS Valleyfield-based plant is responsible for filling this order. GD-OTS Valleyfield is one of the primary suppliers of propellants used in the 155mm artillery shell, particularly the M31A2 propellant.
Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the 155mm shell has become one of the world’s most sought-after pieces of materiel. This ammunition contract is set to expand GD-OTS Valleyfield’s production capacity to supply Ukraine, which, at its peak, was firing more than 10,000 artillery shells per day.
2. INDAL Technologies Inc. - $38,068,471
INDAL Technologies Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario is a regular military producer for the US and other allied navies. INDAL is a unit of North Carolina-based Curtiss-Wright, which acquired the company in 2005.
Through the CCC, INDAL has recently supplied the US DOD with its Recovery Assist, Secure and Traverse (RAST) system, which operates as an arresting device to secure aircraft to the surface of maritime vessels, such as aircraft carriers. In April 2024, INDAL also won a contract through the CCC to supply the US DOD with its Aircraft Ship Integrated Secure and Traverse (ASIST) system. ASIST guides helicopters landing on aircraft carriers or other naval vessels.
According to the CCC, the Crown corporation and INDAL have partnered on contracts valued at more than $300 million for the US military over the last 40 years. INDAL has also recently supplied aircraft-arresting technology to Chile, Singapore, and Türkiye, with further systems on order from Spain and Australia.
3. L3Harris Wescam Inc. - $32,393,965
L3Harris Wescam Inc. in Waterdown, Ontario is one of Canada’s largest producers of military goods. The company’s main offerings include its MX-series of surveillance and targeting systems. These sensors are typically affixed to the bottom of aircraft, allowing users to observe 360 degrees below the aircraft and, with some models, direct smart munitions to targets during airstrikes.
In July 2020, on behalf of Wescam, the CCC signed an eight-year, $380 million contract “in support of global U.S. Army surveillance and targeting operations” for the “U.S. Army’s robust installed base of fixed-wing, aerostat and unmanned platforms while supporting expanding Foreign Military Sales requirements.” Work under this contract likely contributed to some of Wescam’s recorded awards during the period under analysis.
During FY2024, the CCC also awarded a number of subcontracts to Wescam under the Wescam Aggregate Services Plan (WASP); these subcontracts were tied to an original contract signed in January 2022 and provided a continuation of logistics support for three types of MX-series surveillance and targeting sensors installed on the AC-130 aircraft.
The CCC has boasted that, to date, it has won contracts on behalf of L3Harris Wescam Inc. with the US DOD worth more than $1.5 billion.
4. Rolls-Royce Canada Ltd. - $20,316,280
This unit of Rolls-Royce Canada Ltd. is based in Peterborough, Ontario. Although largely known by the public as a manufacturer of high-end automobiles, Rolls-Royce is also a major manufacturer of military aerospace parts and components, aircraft engines, and technology for maritime applications.
In December 2024, the CCC announced that it had won on behalf of Rolls-Royce Canada Ltd. a contract with the US DOD worth up to $110 million to supply the OK-410 Handling and Stowage Group system, an advanced winch system to “deploy, tow, and recover sonar equipment.” This underwater warfare system is used to locate and engage enemy submarines.
5. AirBoss Defense Group, Inc. - $20,141,570
Via the CCC, AirBoss Defense Group, based in Acton Vale, Quebec, was awarded more than $20 million in contracts with the US DOD in FY2024; most can likely be attributed to a single large award valued at US$19 million (approximately C$27 million) to provide nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) equipment to the US Defense Logistics Agency, particularly rubber molded gloves to protect against potential chemical warfare attacks. As the value of this award surpasses the totals for AirBoss supplied by the CCC in FY2024, it is likely that this award is being executed over several years.
The CCC states that it has secured $350 million in awards with the US DOD on behalf of AirBoss Defense Group since it began its relationship with the supplier.
6. Liftking Manufacturing Corp. - $18,524,745
Liftking Manufacturing Corp. in Vaughan, Ontario is a manufacturer of forklifts and larger material-handling equipment for both the commercial and defence sectors. One of their largest customers is the US DOD, producing hundreds of vehicles for use by the US Army, Navy, and Air Force.
In July 2023, Liftking contracted with the US DOD via the CCC to supply both 4,000lb- and 6,000lb-capacity forklifts to the US Navy. As well, according to responses to Access to Information and Privacy requests submitted by Project Ploughshares in prior years, the CCC signed contracts on behalf of Liftking with the DOD valued at $6,677,694 in FY2023 and $9,510,987 in FY2022 (current dollars).
7. Cascade Aerospace Inc. - $17,593,560
Cascade Aerospace, a unit of IMP Aerospace & Defence, is in Abbotsford, British Columbia. It describes itself as a “leading Canadian specialty aerospace & defence company trusted for its engineering and maintenance expertise,” providing servicing, modification, repair, and overhauling of military, specialized, and commercial aircraft.
In 2021, it began maintenance on US Navy C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft as part of a 10-year joint contract with the United Kingdom’s Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, valued at $374 million. Cascade is also under contract to maintain KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft for the US Marines.
Cascade won a separate award in 2021 to perform upgrades to C-130J cargo aircraft for the US Air Force, valued at US$45 million (approximately C$63.8 million).
