This is why drones are flying over downtown Ottawa this week

The Department of National Defence is testing drone recognition technology in downtown Ottawa this week. CTV’s Autin Lee reports.

Drones will be flying over downtown Ottawa this week as part of a drone detection test by the Department of National Defence to identify technologies that could protect crowds at outdoor gatherings.

The drones will be visible in the downtown core Monday to Friday this week, including one night of testing.

The testing will take place at ground level, on mid-level and high-level balconies of high-rise buildings and on rooftops in the vicinity of Kent Street, Queen Street, Sparks Street and Wellington Street, near Parliament Hill.

The Defence Department says the trials will focus on detecting small drones and will “test urban counter-uncrewed aircraft system detection capabilities in a controlled, scientific environment.”

Officials say one of the objectives is to “identify detection technologies that could be used in the future for protecting people at public gathering events.”

“Trials will be strictly limited to drone detection demonstrations, and a detect-only approach means drone destruction is not permitted during testing,” the Department of National Defence said in a statement.

“Testing will be conducted during the day throughout the week, as well as one weeknight. The public will not be directly affected during these tests and residents of downtown Ottawa will not be disrupted by the tests at night.”

The drones are registered and fully compliant with all Transport Canada requirements for flying drones in the city.

The test is called the “Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems Sandbox 2025,” with 20 tech companies selected to take part in the drone detection testing.

According to the DND website, the “Challenge” for the drone-detection test includes protecting a four-block area of a city with office towers varying from two to 15 stories, and the personal protection of a visiting head of state at an outdoor location downtown with media drone coverage expected.

The companies participating include Agile Electromagnetics, Zighra Inc. and Tungsten Collaborative of Ottawa.

A total of $1.75 million in monetary prizes will be awarded to companies for promising technologies.