MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates
Based in Richmond, B.C., MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates is a Canadian aerospace, information services and products company which provides, among other things, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based surveillance and monitoring services to military customers. Its Geospatial Services division delivers information products and services to organizations that need to monitor and manage changes and activities in markets that include national security, defence and intelligence.
In March 2008 MDA collaborated with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in bringing to Canada the IAI’s Heron Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE)(!) UAV for civil applications in Canada. While MDA claimed to be “positioning Canada as one of the world leaders in bringing the benefits of UAVs to new civil markets”, to acquire surveillance information over dangerous environments such as forest fires without risking human flight crews, later that same year MDA and IAI won the bidding for a $100 million contract, known as the Noctua Project, to update the Canadian Forces UAV fleet with Israeli Herons.
Indeed, IAI’s use for and experience with UAVs, or drones, is far from a civil story. Boasting over thirty years of experience with the design and manufacture of UAVs, the bulk of the over 400,000 operational hours of its drones has been over Arab land. This is the technology that provides crucial assistance for deadly military operations and targeted assassinations in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and perhaps beyond. Targeted assassinations are categorized as a war crime under international law.
MDA’s partner, Israel Aerospace Industries, is a major aerospace and aviation manufacturer and Israel’s largest industrial corporation. In addition to UAVs it produces fighter aircraft and military systems for Israel’s ground and naval forces. Among the latter is the Israeli Armored D9, a Caterpillar D9 bulldozer (also a product our pension plan invests in – see Finning International factsheet) modified by IAI together with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli Military Industries. The modifications increased the ability of the bulldozer to survive in hostile environments and to withstand heavy attacks, because it was being used increasingly in operations in the West Bank and Gaza, and notably for house demolitions. Human rights organizations criticize the demolitions as violating international law, and contend that Israeli governments actually use demolitions to collectively punish Palestinians and to seize property for the expansion of Israeli settlements. The modified D9 bulldozers can be fitted with machine guns and grenade launchers operated from an armored cabin or cockpit. According to human rights reports, in Jenin the D9s razed the entire center of the camp, while in Rafah they destroyed thousands of buildings and homes.
Sources: Wikipedia, Israel Aerospace Industries, Kole Killibarda.
