Telesat wins C$2.3 billion Arctic satcom contract from Canada
Telesat · MDA Space
Canada awarded Telesat a C$2.3 billion Arctic military satcom contract, expanding Lightspeed by 69 satellites to 225 total.
what happened
Telesat says Canada's Defence Investment Agency awarded it a C$2.3 billion contract, with two five-year options worth about C$200 million each bringing the total to C$2.7 billion, to deliver Military Ka-band Arctic connectivity to the Canadian Armed Forces under the Enhanced Satellite Communications Project-Polar (ESCP-P) program. The award immediately funds 69 more Telesat Lightspeed satellites, expanding the funded constellation from 156 to 225, a 44% capacity increase; all satellites will be built by MDA Space at its Montreal facility and launched on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. MDA Space says the $474 million increase to its own contract, which adds 27 satellites to the 198 previously announced, also adds 500 MHz of military Ka-band spectrum to satellites already in production, replacing the same amount of commercial Ka-band capacity.
why it matters
This is one of the largest defense satcom awards Telesat has received and locks in MDA Space's Lightspeed manufacturing backlog through at least 225 satellites ahead of first Lightspeed launches later this year. For other LEO operators bidding into NATO and allied Arctic connectivity programs, it sets a scale and price benchmark and confirms Canada is funding military-grade capacity as core infrastructure rather than a bolt-on to commercial service.
for who
LEO connectivity operators and manufacturers bidding government or defense contracts
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Telesat, MDA Space
- Category
- procurement
- Impact
- major
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-08-04
- Published
- 2026-08-04 17:31 UTC