Ottawa is set to play a starring role in Canada's next generation of submarines. Kongsberg Geospatial, a homegrown Ottawa tech company, has been tapped to build the "brains" behind a new fleet of vessels as part of a major international shipbuilding partnership.
A Major Defence Deal Takes Shape
German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems is poised to build up to a dozen submarines in partnership with Norway, and Canada is expected to be part of that build-out. While the steel hulls will be assembled overseas, the sophisticated software systems that help crews navigate, process data, and make sense of what's happening around the vessel are set to come from right here in Ottawa.
Kongsberg Geospatial, based in the capital, specializes in geospatial software and situational awareness systems — the kind of technology that turns raw sensor data into usable, real-time information for operators. For submarines, that means helping crews understand their surroundings and make critical decisions, often in environments where visibility and communication are extremely limited.
Why This Matters for Ottawa
This isn't just a win for one company — it's a signal of Ottawa's growing footprint in the global defence and aerospace tech sector. Kanata North and the broader Ottawa tech corridor have long been home to firms working in telecom, cybersecurity, and photonics, but defence-related software work like this adds another dimension to the city's tech identity.
Kongsberg Geospatial president Jordan Freed spoke with CBC's Elyse Skura about the company's role in the project, underscoring that Ottawa-built technology will be embedded in vessels operating on the other side of the world. For a mid-sized company in a city better known for its government workforce than its shipbuilding, that's a significant vote of confidence.
Part of a Bigger Pattern
Canada has been ramping up defence spending and modernization efforts in recent years, and procurement decisions increasingly favour partnerships that bring Canadian expertise into international projects rather than simply buying finished products off the shelf. Ottawa's tech sector, with its deep bench of engineers and software specialists, is well positioned to benefit from that shift.
For local job seekers and students eyeing the tech and defence sectors, deals like this one are worth watching. They point to steady, high-skill work rooted in Ottawa even as the physical hardware — submarine hulls, in this case — is built abroad.
What's Next
Details on timelines and the exact scope of Kongsberg Geospatial's contribution are still emerging as the broader Canada-Norway-Germany submarine partnership takes shape. But for now, it's clear that when Canada's newest submarines eventually slip beneath the waves, a piece of Ottawa will be on board, quietly doing the thinking.
Source: CBC Ottawa
