Canada joins EU’s €150 billion Security Action for Europe program
First non-European country to take part in flagship joint procurement
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Canada has reached a final agreement to join the EU’s €150 billion Security Action for Europe program, marking the first time a third country will formally participate in the bloc’s flagship joint procurement initiative.
Canada’s accession to the loan-for-weapons SAFE scheme gives Ottawa access to jointly financed defence projects and allows Canadian companies to bid into EU-supported joint procurement projects. For Brussels, securing a G7 partner strengthens the credibility of SAFE as it seeks to coordinate long-term weapons demand and ramp up Europe’s defence industrial base.
Under SAFE, third countries can account for a maximum of 35 percent of the value of a weapons system paid for by the scheme; Canada will be able to have a larger share but it will have to pay a fee “commensurate with the benefits the Partner Country and its entities are expected to derive,” factoring in GDP, industrial competitiveness and the depth of cooperation with European manufacturers.
Other issues tackled in negotiations covered conditions on intellectual property control and limits on non-EU inputs for sensitive systems including drones, missile-defence assets and strategic enablers.
Bottom Line: The deal gives Canadian firms access to low‑interest loans and major defence contracts for everything from ammunition to drones. By opening EU loan and procurement markets to Canadian firms, SAFE is expected to trigger a wave of new private capital into Canada’s defence sector, especially in munitions, drones, missiles, and other advanced systems. Access to a predictable pipeline of EU-funded contracts lowers risk for investors, making it easier for Canadian companies to finance new plants, R&D, and technology upgrades.
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🤝 Deal Corner
Alberta’s defence tech landscape in 2025 is moving from scattered experiments to technologies that are being built and adopted at scale:
167 companies tracked
$850M+ disclosed funding
4.38x average valuation growth since 2018
56 companies with Series A+ funding
Large, strategic funding rounds point to a more mature ecosystem, where AI, sensing, and digital-twin tools are coming together to support national resilience. Overall, the trend is toward convergence: data intelligence, environmental monitoring, and operational safety are merging into a coordinated, dual-use foundation that combines industrial capability with adaptable, modern tech.
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⚔️ Combat Readiness
The Times has published an in-depth report on Ukraine’s use of naval drones and their recent strikes on Russian surveillance and energy installations in the Black Sea and the Novorossiysk area.
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Ho ho ho: It is December, which means NORAD’s santa tracker is back!
If you’ve got battlefield intel, classified tips, or just want to call in an airstrike on our typos, hit “reply” and sound off. Whether it’s a new tech sighting, a rumour from the mess hall, or feedback on our comms, we want your SITREP.