Canadian Minister of Industry Tony Clement announced on Thursday that the government will invest 13 million Canadian dollars (about 13.17 million U.S. dollars) in a project to develop new fly-by-wire systems for business and commercial aircraft.
The Canadian government's fund will be pumped through the Strategic Aerospace and Defense Initiative (SADI), which supports strategic industrial research and pre-competitive development projects in the aerospace, defense, space and security industries.
The project is to develop the next generation digital systems, which are lighter and more reliable than the standard mechanical models now in use, to control aircraft flight.
The fly-by-wire system transmits electronic control signals from the cockpit by means of wires and computers rather than the cables, pulleys and piping used in mechanical systems. This system will make the aircraft lighter and consume less fuel, and reduce operating costs, aircraft exhaust, as well as environment pollution.
The focus will be on commercial aircraft with 70 to 140 seats, and mid- to large-sized business planes.
Thales Canada Inc., one of Canada's leading technology companies, is investing up to 43.3 million Canadian dollars in this project.
The project will be carried out in collaboration with the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec, including research conducted by the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal.
Thales Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of the French electronics and systems company Thales SA. Based in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, the company has 1,400 employees in Montreal, Halifax, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, with over 500 million Canadian dollars in sales.