‘Secret’ drone installation to be built at Uplands, federal records reveal
Originally envisioned as a 4,000-square-metre building, it will now be around 6,000 square metres, records show.
David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Published Apr 23, 2024 • Last updated 4 hours ago • 4 minute read
Uplands will be the site for a new $65-million military facility to control the Royal Canadian Air Force’s drone fleet.
The Ottawa installation, to be ready by 2028, will be around 6,000 square metres in size. It will be home to almost 200 military personnel whose job will be to operate and control a new fleet of drones flying from military bases in British Columbia and Nova Scotia.
The Canadian Forces and National Defence originally claimed in an April 8 statement to this newspaper that the location in Ottawa for the new building was secret for security reasons.
But that information was false. National Defence outlined details about the Uplands location in
publicly available documents that are online. The department also held public consultations on the Uplands location as part of its environmental assessment for the site,
government documents show.
The publicly available records outline the construction of the building as well as a parking lot for employees who will work at the Uplands site.
The documents indicate that the proposed size of the facility has increased. It was originally envisioned as a 4,000-square-metre building, according to the records, but will now be around 6,000 square metres.
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