Arcanus Aerial Systems Secures Canadian Production with Beyond Vision -- One of Europe's Most Awarded and Fastest-Growing Defence-Drone Companies
Press Release
TORONTO and LISBON, Portugal, April 30, 2026 /CNW/ - Arcanus Aerial Systems Inc. ("Arcanus"), a Canadian-controlled defence drone platform, today announced the execution of a binding Term Sheet with Beyond Vision, S.A. of Lisbon, Portugal -- widely recognized as one of Europe's most decorated and fastest-growing unmanned-aerial-systems companies. The agreement grants Arcanus the right to manufacture, commercialize and support Beyond Vision's flagship UAV platforms in Canada and on Canadian-funded export sales.
The signed term sheet was executed by Beyond Vision's President of the Board, Dário Filipe Romana Pedro, on April 29, 2026, and by Matthew Ewing, Executive Vice-President of Arcanus, on April 28, 2026. It is the latest in a rapid sequence of executed commercial milestones as Arcanus moves towards building sovereign capacity.
A Partner the World Has Already Validated
Beyond Vision is not an emerging vendor -- it is a recognized European defence champion. The company's reception by governments, multilateral institutions and the international press over the past several years speaks for itself:
Singled out by Brussels. The European Defence Agency's 2024 Industrial Report named Beyond Vision among the companies "leading Europe in drone innovation and military applications," and the European Commission's Defence and Space Commissioner publicly cited Portugal's defence-tech ecosystem -- with Beyond Vision at its centre -- as "an example for the entire European Union."
A wall of awards. European Commission Seal of Excellence. Altice International Innovation Award. NOS Startup World Award. Microsoft Startup Award. ISO 9001 certified. Accredited by the Portuguese Ministry of Defence for Security and Defence applications.
Trusted by NATO members in active service. The Portuguese Navy has operated a Beyond Vision fleet since 2022 under a multi-year contract that includes aircraft, payloads and the company's beXStream cloud-based command platform.
Selected for Europe's flagship defence experiments. Beyond Vision was chosen to participate in the European Defence Agency's inaugural Operational Experimentation Campaign (OPEX 2025) under the Hub for European Defence Innovation, and in the multinational REPMUS 2025 robotic-systems exercise -- placing it alongside the most advanced unmanned-systems programs on the continent.
Battle-validated in Ukraine. International defence press has reported Beyond Vision platforms in active operational use in Ukraine -- the most demanding electronic-warfare environment in the world today.
A founding-team pedigree. CEO Dário Pedro holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence; the leadership bench combines academic excellence with veteran Portuguese Navy and Air Force flight experience.
This is the calibre of partner Arcanus has now formally aligned with for Canadian production.
What the Licence Delivers to Arcanus
From day one, the executed term sheet provides:
Canadian sovereign manufacturing rights to produce, commercialize and support Beyond Vision's flagship UAV platforms in Canada, with sales permitted to Canadian and Canada-funded customers, plus non-competitive external sales on notice.
Exclusivity in Canada tied to the agreed annual royalty minimum -- a performance threshold Arcanus is structurally positioned to clear.
Joint ownership of process improvements, with Arcanus owning Canadian-originated modifications and integrations outright -- establishing the company as a co-developer, not merely a contract manufacturer.
Quality of partner. Beyond Vision does not licence to start-ups. They licenced to Arcanus because the binding orders, the Canadian sovereign-credit pathway through CCC/EDC, and the manufacturing footprint are already in place to deliver.
"Beyond Vision is the kind of partner an investor cannot manufacture out of thin air -- they are recognized in Brussels, awarded across Europe, trusted by NATO members, and proven in the field," said Matthew Ewing, Executive Vice-President of Arcanus Aerial Systems. "To have them choose Arcanus as their Canadian licensee is a powerful third-party validation of everything we have been telling investors."
"Canada's ITAR-free posture, combined with Beyond Vision's European credibility and our customer pipeline, creates a sovereign export channel that competitors cannot replicate," added Sandi Banerjee, President & Chief Operating Officer of Arcanus. "We are executing the playbook - partnership, production, purchase order, payment -- and we are doing it in weeks, not quarters."
About Arcanus Aerial Systems Inc.
Arcanus Aerial Systems Inc. is a Canadian-controlled, sovereign-supply-chain defence drone platform headquartered in Toronto. Through a curated portfolio of Technology Partnership Agreements -- now augmented by the Beyond Vision licence -- Arcanus delivers battle-validated UAV solutions to NATO, Five Eyes and allied end users, and is positioned as a full defence-stack aggregator with announced or signed access to UGVs, ammunition, precision munitions and explosives. Arcanus' commercial pipeline includes a $28.3M binding Liberia purchase order, $84M of executed LOIs (Bulgaria + Chile), and $3.09B of annualized Ukrainian demand backstopped by the CCC/EDC three-way contract framework.
About Beyond Vision, S.A.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Alverca do Ribatejo, Portugal, Beyond Vision is one of Europe's most decorated unmanned-aerial-systems companies. The company's honours include the European Commission's Seal of Excellence, the Altice International Innovation Award, the NOS Startup World Award, and the Microsoft Startup Award; it is ISO 9001 certified and accredited by the Portuguese Ministry of Defence. Beyond Vision is a multi-year supplier to the Portuguese Navy, has been selected for the European Defence Agency's flagship OPEX and REPMUS exercises, and has been cited by Brussels and the European Defence Agency among the companies leading European drone innovation. The company is doubling its production capacity in Alverca and has expanded across the United States, Brazil, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.