General Dynamics Mission Systems - Canada

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
<p>Computing Devices Canada was incorporated on August 31, 1948 as a global defence contractor. The company was founded by two Polish immigrants to Canada, George Glinski and Joe Norton, to support the rebuilding of Canada's military after the <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">Second World War</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> The company got its start by manufacturing the Position and Homing Indicator (PHI), a device developed at the <a href="/facts/National_Research_Council_(Canada)/MXCsvmvD">National Research Council</a> that kept track of an aircraft's position and indicated its return route to base. One large contract that had a significant influence on the company's growth was for the <i>Kicksorter</i>, a digital-pulse counter designed for the Atomic Energy of Canada Laboratories (<a href="/facts/Atomic_Energy_of_Canada_Limited/Dv09lsfo">AECL</a>) in <a href="/facts/Chalk_River/8ewFI3cn">Chalk River</a>. If the Kicksorter had been slightly modified to do simple arithmetic operations, it would have been a rudimentary computer. AECL purchased a large number of these devices between 1957 and 1963, when they were replaced by one of the early computers in the PDP series manufactured by the <a href="/facts/Digital_Equipment_Corporation/ztxs6keA">Digital Equipment Corporation</a> (DEC). Another contract was to design and construct a large digital simulator for the Royal Canadian Navy that was never completed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a>
</p><p>During the 1990s, Computing Devices Canada implemented the <a href="/facts/Iris_Digital_Communications_System/W8HmH0dI">Iris Digital Communications System</a>, which was a thorough communications upgrade for the <a href="/facts/Canadian_Army/IdccmkJo">Canadian Army</a>, and on the strength of that effort, was awarded the <a href="/facts/Bowman_(communications_system)/Unlc6SYu">Bowman</a> contract to perform a similar effort for the British Army.
</p><p>In 1998, <a href="/facts/General_Dynamics/LoTpPuU6">General Dynamics</a> purchased the company, renaming it to General Dynamics Canada.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a>
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<h2 id="products-and-programs">Products and programs</h2>

<p>The Aurora Program is the mid-life upgrade of the <a href="/facts/CP-140_Aurora/Qeu7d1Dr">CP140 Aurora</a> aircraft operated by the <a href="/facts/Canadian_Department_of_National_Defence/LPMp12bk">Canadian Department of National Defence</a> as a long-range maritime patrol platform for surface and undersea surveillance roles. GD Mission Systems — Canada has been contracted to develop the Data Management System (DMS) and Acoustic Suite subsystems. The latest release brings with it new capabilities in terms of Link 16, BLOS-WGS satcom and self-defence in the form of a Directed IR Countermeasures system (DIRCM).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
</p><p>In 2014, they were awarded two contracts on the Mercury Global Project.  The first contract is for the design-and-build of a network of Mercury Global anchor stations valued at $59.1 million.  Through this network of antennas, the <a href="/facts/Department_of_National_Defence_(Canada)/LPMp12bk">Department of National Defence</a> will access the <a href="/facts/Wideband_Global_Satellite/c0CIqNDN">Wideband Global Satellite (WGS)</a> constellation and will be able to provide secure communications for deployed Canadian Forces. The second contract provides ongoing in-service support and is valued at $8.5 million.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>
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<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://www.gdcanada.com/">Official website</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"News:General Dynamics Canada Celebrates 60th Anniversary". gdcanada.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160610172413/http://www.gdcanada.com/news/archivednews/2008news/september222008" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20160610172413/http://www.gdcanada.com/news/archivednews/2008news/september222008</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Smillie, Keith (April 2010). "Anecdotes". IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. 32 (2): 80–83. doi:10.1109/MAHC.2010.29. Project MUSE 394131. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109%2FMAHC.2010.29" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1109%2FMAHC.2010.29</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>"General Dynamics provides jobs for Ottawa as it delivers crucial technologies to the defence and security industry [PDF]" (PDF). investottawa.ca. Retrieved 2 May 2016. <a href="http://investottawa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2012-02-15-InvestOttawa-GeneralDynamics-VIEW.pdf" target="_blank">http://investottawa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2012-02-15-InvestOttawa-GeneralDynamics-VIEW.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>General Dynamics Mission Systems. "General Dynamics Mission Systems - Canada - General Dynamics Mission Systems". General Dynamics Mission Systems. Retrieved 29 April 2016. <a href="https://gdmissionsystems.com/international/gd-canada/" target="_blank">https://gdmissionsystems.com/international/gd-canada/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>"News:General Dynamics to Design, Build and Support Anchor Stations for Canada's Mercury Global Project". gdcanada.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160428204008/http://www.gdcanada.com/news/currentnews/november132014" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20160428204008/http://www.gdcanada.com/news/currentnews/november132014</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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General Dynamics Mission Systems - Canada open-in-new

General Dynamics Mission Systems - Canada