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QUÉBEC, CANADA (BNS): European consortium EADS’s defence and security wing Cassidian has teamed up with Defence Research Development Canada (DRDC) to develop new technologies to protect Canadian naval ships from laser-guided weapons.

Under a contract awarded to it by the DRDC, Cassidian will work on innovative solutions to enable the naval ships in countering new types of asymmetric threats in both harbours and littoral waters.

The programme, desiganted LOCATES (Laser Optical Countermeasures and Surveilllance Against Threat Environment Scenarios), aims at developing a reliable laser counter-measure system with detection and tracking capability.

A prototype system will be developed and field tested by 2013, the company said.

In a close cooperation between Cassidian and DRDC, the programme will include technologies currently under development with the Canadian research and development agency, it said.

"The Canadian Navy's mission is continuously evolving, and accordingly requires cutting-edge technologies to detect and protect Naval platforms from asymmetric threats," said Simon Jacques, Cassidian Head of Canadian Sales.

"Technologies developed in partnership with the DRDC-Valcartier will not only satisfy the Canadian Navy's littoral requirements, but also those of allied Navies throughout the world," Jacques added.

Cassidian has developed a wide range of laser warning devices for ships, aircraft and land vehicles presently in operation with several NATO armed forces.

Leveraging on this expertise, the company will build the new laser counter-measure system.