Kongsberg Geospatial and Hanwha Defense USA have signed an agreement to collaborate on the upcoming Canadian land systems program.
Under the agreement, KG, the Canadian subsidiary of Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace, will take local responsibility for the Integrated Combat Solution (ICS) software integration and support for the Hanwha K9/K10 self propelled howitzer artillery vehicles.
This relationship is expected to further strengthen global ties and generate significant Canadian content for many years to come. The resulting relationship will create strong economic impacts, meaningful partnerships, and job creation in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, and mark KG as a software center of excellence for Canadian Army programs.
KG will tailor and support the ICS solution, which has embedded KG’s made-in-Canada TerraLens (TL) Software Development Kit (SDK). TL will enable ICS to visualize virtually unlimited track data with real-time precision from inside their vehicles, allowing commanders to make informed decisions for countering threats. ICS is a future-oriented digital solution for combat platforms. Variants of ICS are in operational use today by close allies such as USA, Australia, Norway, Finland to name a few which drastically reduces deployment risk for Canada.
This investment by KG to provide made-in-Canada software demonstrates our commitment to align with the Canadian Armed Forces Digital Campaign Plan. Introduction of ICS in Canada could open doors for additional development of the solution for K9 artillery, and generate work, training, and maintenance opportunities in Canada.
The ICS is a complete system providing a fully digitized platform for both new and existing vehicles and platforms. Flexibility is at the core of ICS, and it is built to be completely platform agnostic and easily adaptable and scalable. The solution inherently supports complex platforms where crew members work tightly together to execute their mission across a range of subsystems, as well as simpler single user setups.
On the K9s, ICS integrates all subsystems into a holistic, total system, significantly increasing crew efficiency and reducing reaction times. The vehicle itself is integrated as a subsystem, as well as allowing all other subsystems access to vehicle information. ICS’s proven configuration significantly improves the operational capabilities of the K9 howitzers.
Tuhin Das, Director of Business Development, Canada, at Kongsberg Geospatial, said; “It’s truly remarkable to contribute to KG’s expanding footprint in Canada and to explore new markets on multiple fronts. With the MoU signed with Hanwha, we are excited to introduce a world-class digital integration platform for the urgent and future land programs of the Canadian Army.”
James Kim, Senior Director of Business Development at Hanwha Defence, added; “Hanwha is pleased to be embarking on this voyage with Kongsberg in Canada. We see multiple capabilities that Canada is needing and the synergy from a Hanwha-Kongsberg collaboration would play a significant part in the Canadian Army’s modernization aspirations.”
