AtkinsRéalis, DRAKKAR join forces to go after defence work

Key Takeaways:

• AtkinsRéalis and DRAKKAR signed a strategic MOU at DEFSEC Atlantic to pursue joint Canadian defense, aerospace, and naval contracts.
• The partnership pairs AtkinsRéalis’ engineering and program integration with DRAKKAR’s industrial logistics, manufacturing, and aerospace maintenance services.
• The collaboration aims to offer end-to-end lifecycle delivery and in-service support for military platforms and defense infrastructure across Canada.

The Whole Story:

Engineering services firm AtkinsRéalis and industrial services provider DRAKKAR have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore joint opportunities across Canadian defence, naval, and aerospace procurement programs.

Announced at the DEFSEC Atlantic defence exposition in Halifax, the agreement establishes a framework for the two Montreal-headquartered companies to deliver integrated lifecycle support for military platforms. The proposed collaboration spans acquisition, modernization, in-service support, and infrastructure maintenance across air, land, and maritime defence sectors.

Under the framework, AtkinsRéalis will contribute program management, systems integration, asset management, and complex engineering expertise. DRAKKAR will provide industrial execution, aerospace maintenance, manufacturing support, and logistics capacity.

“By combining our engineering, systems integration, program management, operations and maintenance, and asset management expertise with DRAKKAR’s capabilities in aerospace maintenance, logistics and manufacturing services, we can help strengthen Canada’s defence capacity, supply-chain resilience and long-term operational readiness,” said Stéphanie Vaillancourt, President, Canada, at AtkinsRéalis.

Benoit Hudon, President and CEO of the DRAKKAR Group, emphasized the focus on domestic capacity: “Building strong partnerships with established Canadian companies that already have the capabilities, infrastructure and workforce in place is essential to strengthening Canada’s defence industrial capacity… we can accelerate defence readiness, deliver greater value to government and contribute meaningfully to Canada’s sovereignty objectives.”

The partnership aligns with expanding federal defence spending commitments and domestic industrial capability mandates across major military procurement programs.