Airbus has moved beyond a supplier relationship with Canadian drone company Landing Zones, taking an undisclosed equity position and gaining representation on its board as it expands its military training business in Canada.
The agreement, signed Wednesday at the Farnborough International Airshow, will combine Landing Zones’ drone threat-emulation technology with Airbus’s live military training operations. Landing Zones will also become a dedicated Canadian representative for Airbus Defence and Space Services.
The transaction does not include a Canadian Armed Forces purchase. No investment amount, ownership stake, delivery schedule, or contracted revenue was disclosed.
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What is new is the depth of Airbus’s involvement. The companies signed an initial cooperation agreement in December 2023 covering remotely piloted aircraft used as aerial targets during air-defence exercises. The latest deal adds capital, board-level access, and a formal Canadian sales and services role.
The partnership will focus on recreating large-scale battlefield scenarios involving advanced glide targets and drone threats. Such systems allow militaries to test aircraft, sensors, weapons, and air-defence units against realistic airborne targets without using operational enemy platforms.
Landing Zones CEO Spencer Fraser said the investment would accelerate the company’s threat-emulation technology for “modern drone threats proliferating on today’s battlefields.”
Airbus said the investment supports its obligations under Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy, which requires defence contractors to generate economic activity in Canada.
Those obligations stem from Airbus’s approximately $3.6 billion contract to provide nine CC-330 Husky aircraft to the Royal Canadian Air Force. The contract covers four new A330 Multi Role Tanker Transports and the conversion of five used A330-200 aircraft.
The Landing Zones investment therefore allows Airbus to satisfy part of a major procurement commitment while strengthening its position in a separate defence market.
