February 18, 2026 - Ottawa, Ontario - National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces
Today, the Honourable David J. McGuinty, Minister of National Defence, announced the winners of a total of $1.75 million following the 2025 "Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems (CUAS) Sandbox" demonstration event held in Ottawa from November 24 to 28, 2025.
This event, which is part of the Department of National Defence's (DND) Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program, challenged 19 innovators to develop advanced drone detection technologies for complex urban environments.
After rigorous testing and evaluation by defence science experts, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and other defence and security allies, three groundbreaking Canadian innovations were recognized and have earned this year's "Diamond in the Rough" prizes.
In first place, and the recipient of $1,000,000 is DARIT Technologies (Sherbrooke, Quebec). Tied for second place, and each receiving $375,000 are OBJEXIS (Oakville, Ontario) and Prandtl Dynamics (Toronto, Ontario).
The "Diamond in the Rough" awards highlight ingenuity and technical excellence. These prize-winning solutions demonstrated exceptional capability to detect and track micro and mini drones in real time-addressing a critical security challenge as drones become increasingly accessible and sophisticated.
The Minister also recognized the valuable contributions of all participating innovators, whose creativity and expertise are essential to advancing Canada's defence and security capabilities through the IDEaS program. More information on the prize winners and all participating innovators can be found on the Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems (CUAS) Sandbox 2025 (Urban) web page.
