Transponder Landing System (TLS)

The Department of National Defence requires a single deployable Transponder Landing System (TLS) to fulfill an urgent operational gap at 8 Wing Trenton, ensuring uninterrupted precision approach capabilities for Royal Canadian Air Force operations including NORAD, Search and Rescue, Air Mobility, and Agile Combat Employment. The system must deliver Category I Instrument Landing System-equivalent or superior guidance to multiple aircraft types without requiring any modifications to existing RCAF airframes, and must operate reliably in extreme environments ranging from -50°C to +50°C across Arctic, desert, and all-weather conditions including rain, snow, fog, and high winds. The TLS must be mobile, rapidly transportable via standard military airlift, and designed to fit on a single 463L aircraft pallet, enabling repositioning within hours to support expeditionary and dispersed operations. It must provide full precision approach functionality independent of satellite-based navigation systems to ensure resilience against GPS degradation or denial, while also being remotely controllable from at least three nautical miles away and operating within approved Canadian aeronautical frequency bands without requiring extraordinary regulatory approvals. The system must be commercially available, certified by an ICAO-recognized authority such as Transport Canada or the FAA, and have a documented history of successful military deployment in contested or high-threat environments. It must include an organic calibration and validation capability to reduce dependency on crewed flight inspections, support simultaneous guidance for a minimum of four aircraft without performance degradation, and use a fully modular architecture with line-replaceable units for rapid field maintenance by trained military technicians using minimal specialized tools. Power requirements mandate compatibility with Canadian military airfield shore power standards (120V/60Hz and 230V/120Hz), complemented by a self-contained backup power system capable of sustaining full operation for at least eight hours without refueling or recharging. Continuous system monitoring with automated fault detection and alerts is mandatory, and the entire system must be resistant to electronic warfare interference including jamming. The contract has an estimated value of $6,350,000 USD inclusive of all applicable Canadian duties and taxes, with delivery required no later than August 1, 2026, under Delivery Duty Paid terms. Only one known supplier currently satisfies all mandatory criteria, and suppliers must submit a detailed Statement of Capabilities by June 23, 2026, to Fawaz Awan of the Directorate of Aerospace Procurement to demonstrate full compliance with all performance, environmental, operational, and certification requirements