Tender: MINERVA Initiative – Domestic VTOL Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Uncrewed Air System

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Department of National Defence (DND) is seeking a supplier for the MINERVA Initiative Phase 2 prototype of a domestically produced vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) for the Canadian Army. This Challenge is for Phase 2 (prototype development) submissions at TRL 5–9, opens August 24, 2026 and closes September 21, 2026 at 14:00 Eastern time, and offers up to $500,000 CAD in contract funding per project for up to 15 months with an estimated five contracts; travel to Suffield, Alberta for prototype demonstration is required. The required system must include an air vehicle, sensor payload, ground control station (GCS), radio, battery with multi-battery charger and a remote antenna; operate between -20°C and +40°C, in winds up to 40 km/hr and light rain/snow (0.5 mm/m²/hr); have a minimum 6 km operational radius and 60 minutes endurance; meet specified day/night recognition ranges for persons and vehicles; perform VTOL in a maximum 2 m² area; be stowable in a 70-litre pack and operate at a minimum 1000 ft AGL. Additional desired outcomes include deploy-to-mission-ready in 10 minutes or less, maximum takeoff weight of 5 kg, projected production cost of $40,000 CAD or less per system, low acoustic signature, alternate non-electric or hybrid power options, loss-of-link return behaviors, GCS simulation and TAK interface capabilities, and a submission of critical-component sourcing and country-of-origin details for radio, GCS, on-board computer and any software.