KWESST (KWE.V) Establishes ATAK Centre in Ottawa

KWESST Micro Systems (KWE.V) announced they are establishing an ATAK (Android Tactical Assault Kit) Centre of Excellence in Ottawa.

ATAK is an android geospatial and situational awareness system that provides users with a menu of operational applications and is used by many US agencies and NATO allies. It allows people to provide orders and automatic protocols using an android device, such as a phone.

The centre’s aim is to facilitate integration into the US ATAK battlefield management system. KWESST was officially sponsored by the US military to integrate some of their systems into ATAK earlier this month.

“Since then, we have received many requests from government agencies and defence contractors in Canada and overseas to assist them with integrating their current or new applications into ATAK and providing through-life support,” stated Jeff MacLeod, KWESST President and CEO. “We are already engaged with a number of customers and have many others in the queue. As a result we are ramping up a dedicated practice for this and leveraging our expertise in ATAK integration.”

The ATAK Centre of Excellence will be an important site for KWESST, allowing them to get to know the ATAK system well. This knowledge will allow them to figure out how they can best improve the ATAK system.

KWE.V stated its Centre of Excellence will allow them to assist customers, both government and industry, with end-to-end application development, facilitate approval with US ATAK authorities, and provide users with ongoing support.

It is very rare that a non-US based company gets to peek beneath the hood of their ATAK system. MacLoed stated that “to our knowledge, KWESST is the only Canadian company with the credentials, official U.S. military sponsorship, specialized software and the experience to facilitate ATAK integration.”

The soldier system market at over $12 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.65%.

As these sectors grow and the systems gain widespread adoption, they are likely to gain increasing importance for more sectors of Canadian law enforcement and military. KWESST’s ATAK Centre of Excellence in Ottawa gives them a head start over any future competitors trying to provide ATAK systems in Canada.

“Apart from the revenue potential, this further positions KWESST as a leader in the digitization of land forces at the tactical level, pushing critical information and high-value applications to the individual soldier on the ground and back up through the chain of command,” said MacLeod. “This continues to be a key missing link in the modernization of soldier systems.”