Train and test against realistic air, land, and naval threats without expending operational systems. QinetiQ Target Systems Canada designs and produces targets, control systems, scoring, and launch equipment in Medicine Hat.
Uncrewed surface and naval threat-representation systems
Strong evidence
Deploy remotely controlled uncrewed surface and tow targets that reproduce fast-attack craft, fast inshore attack craft, piracy, explosive-USV and swarm threats for naval training and weapon-system evaluation.
Core features
Hammerhead MkII and Barracuda high-speed uncrewed surface targets
Line-of-sight and over-the-horizon remote control
Multi-target swarm scenarios with control of up to 40 vehicles
Configurable payload, radar, visual and scoring augmentation
Deployable field-service launch, recovery and mission operation
Defence applications
Naval gunnery and close-in weapon-system training
Surface-to-surface and air-to-surface weapon evaluation
Fast inshore attack craft and piracy threat rehearsal
Explosive-USV and swarm-defence training
Uncrewed surface vehiclesNaval targetsSwarm trainingThreat representationLive-fire training
Uncrewed aerial threat-representation target family
Strong evidence
Provide reusable and configurable uncrewed aerial targets for live-fire training, weapons acceptance, air-defence test and evaluation, and realistic radar and infrared threat representation from land or sea.
Core features
Propeller and single- or twin-turbine target variants
Land and sea launch configurations
Configurable radar and infrared signature augmentation
Digital avionics, telemetry, autonomous control and scoring integration
Compatibility with air-to-air and surface-to-air weapon training
Defence applications
Ground-based air-defence acceptance and training
Air-to-air and surface-to-air weapon-system testing
Live-fire mission rehearsal
Radar, infrared and sea-skimming threat representation
Aerial targetsUncrewed aircraftAir defence trainingThreat emulationTest and evaluation
Hammerhead and Barracuda Naval Target Systems may help teams working on Defending against air and missile attacks by contributing to detection and situational awareness, aerospace operations, and targeting and precision effects.
Hammerhead and Barracuda Naval Target Systems may help teams working on Sovereign defence capability areas by contributing to detection and situational awareness, autonomous and uncrewed systems, and aerospace operations.
QinetiQ Target Systems Canada gives forces realistic air, land, and naval threats to detect, track, engage, and learn from during test and training. That can improve readiness before large formations face the same threat patterns in operations.
Banshee Aerial Target Systems may help teams working on Enhancing the combat effectiveness of large land formations by contributing to autonomous and uncrewed systems, land operations, and targeting and precision effects.
Banshee Aerial Target Systems may help teams working on Defending against air and missile attacks by contributing to detection and situational awareness, aerospace operations, and targeting and precision effects.
Banshee Aerial Target Systems may help teams working on Low-cost drone laser ranging for indirect fire by contributing to detection and situational awareness, autonomous and uncrewed systems, and aerospace operations.
Banshee Aerial Target Systems may help teams working on Sovereign defence capability areas by contributing to detection and situational awareness, autonomous and uncrewed systems, and cyber and digital operations.
QinetiQ describes its Medicine Hat operation and Canadian production of naval, aerial, and land target systems, remotely operated surface vessels, command-and-control systems, scoring systems, and launchers.
QinetiQ states that it manufactures target systems in Alberta and offers aerial, rotary-wing, land and naval targets, special-mission vehicles, command and control, scoring, launchers and turnkey field services.
QinetiQ's March 2026 report identifies the Canadian Target Systems team and documents deployment and remote control of ten Hammerhead targets in three multinational exercise scenarios.
CanadaBuys lists QinetiQ Target Systems Canada at Unit 3, 1735 Brier Park Road NW in Medicine Hat and records 95 employees on the amended naval-target standing offer.
QinetiQ's official surface-target portfolio describes Hammerhead, Barracuda, Sprite II and tow targets for naval live-fire readiness, fast-attack-craft and piracy scenarios, including simultaneous control of up to 40 targets.
The Hammerhead MkII product page supports line-of-sight and over-the-horizon control, 35-knot operation in Sea State 3, payload customization and swarm threat representation.
Reviewer synthesis of the public end state: Canada can build, sustain or control priority aerospace, ammunition, digital, in-service support, sensor, space, specialized manufacturing, training and uncrewed capabilities through domestic strength, trusted partnerships and sovereign access.
The Banshee Jet 80 official page documents twin turbine propulsion, land and sea launch, use with surface-to-air and air-to-air weapon systems, modular target enhancement and realistic infrared signatures.
CanadaBuys identifies QTS as a Canadian aerial-target equipment and services provider and documents Banshee use across a broad set of ground-based and naval air-defence systems.
The article says proposed solutions are intended to improve battlefield awareness, decision making, soldier survivability, sensor-to-shooter integration, and resilience in harsh environmental conditions.
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