Convergence Design Services Launches the MIL-V, a Fully Sovereign Electrically Powered Military Vehicle Platform
Press Release + Noah Note
Ottawa-based defence engineering firm debuts Canadian-built, optionally manned platform for defence at CANSEC 2026.
OTTAWA, ON — Convergence Design Services, an Ottawa-based defence technology engineering firm with over thirty years of mission-critical engineering experience, has launched the MIL-V, a fully sovereign, electrically powered military vehicle platform designed, built, and owned entirely in Canada.
Following its public debut at CANSEC 2026, the MIL-V is now available for procurement engagement, demonstration, and program integration discussions with Canadian defence organizations and allied nations
PLATFORM OVERVIEW
The MIL-V is a mission-ready, electrically powered autonomous vehicle platform capable of manned and unmanned operation across any terrain or climate. Its open modular architecture allows rapid reconfiguration for breaching, CASEVAC, resupply, ISR, and force protection missions without returning to base.
The platform's electric powertrain delivers a near-silent acoustic signature and reduced thermal profile, making it well suited for operations where stealth and low observability are critical. An internal power distribution system supports multiple mission systems simultaneously, and sensors are fused across multiple domains to give operators and autonomous systems a unified, real-time picture of the operational environment.
The MIL-V is classified as an attritable Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV). It requires minimal training and is simple to maintain and repair with locally available parts anywhere in theatre. The unmanned MIL-V variant was designed with transportability in mind, making it easy to transport by shipping container, truck bed, aircraft, and other logistics platforms.
Every line of IP is Canadian. The supply chain is entirely domestic, ITAR-free, and not subject to export controls, foreign policy shifts, or global conflict disruption.
WHY IT MATTERS FOR CANADIAN DEFENCE
Canada is at a critical juncture in its defence industrial development. Through the Defence Industrial Strategy, the federal government has committed to rebuilding domestic defence capability, raising the share of defence acquisitions awarded to Canadian firms to 70%, and prioritizing domestic supply chain resilience.
The MIL-V is not a newly conceived platform. It builds on decades of combined automotive and defence engineering experience, resulting in a proven solution aligned with the evolving needs of Canadian defence procurement.
The platform's fully domestic supply chain means Canada can produce, sustain, and deploy the MIL-V independently. In a crisis or conflict scenario, there are no foreign dependencies, no export control risks, and no supply chain vulnerabilities. Production can scale rapidly to meet demand using existing Canadian manufacturing capacity.
"Canadian defence companies are the backbone of future technology innovation. This platform showcases what our industry is capable of across a multitude of missions. One hundred percent Canadian-built. Canadian IP. Canadian owned. This is what sovereign defence capability looks like in practice."
Ben Seaman, President, Convergence Design Services
PLATFORM CAPABILITIES
The MIL-V is engineered to support a broad range of operational mission sets:
Breaching and assault support, silent electric approach with reduced thermal signature
CASEVAC, rapid reconfiguration for casualty evacuation in austere environments
Resupply, autonomous logistics support reducing risk to personnel
ISR, multi-domain sensor fusion for persistent situational awareness
Force protection, counter-drone and counter-UAS capability integration
Unmanned operations, full autonomous operation capability in GNSS-denied environments
The MIL-V can be configured with a wide range of mission-specific technologies, including counter-drone systems, autonomous navigation, Edge-AI computing, anti-jamming GNSS, beyond-line-of-sight communications, electric propulsion, and ruggedized computing, enabling operators to tailor capability to operational requirements.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions: 8ft x 5ft (unmanned) / 11ft x 5ft (manned)
Vehicle Weight: 817 kg (1,800 lbs)
Payload Capacity: 680 kg (1,500 lbs)
Towing Capacity: 907 kg (2000 Ibs)
Max Speed: 55 km/h (35 mph)
Range: 70 km (43 mi) standard configuration
Powertrain: 2 dual electric motors
Ground Clearance: 27 cm (10.5 in)
Turning Radius: 2.8m (110 in) inside radius
Sensors: Camera, LiDAR, Radar, GNSS
Lights: LED / IR with stealth kill switch
Charging: AC Level 1, 120V (6 to 8 hours)
Upgrade Options: Dual battery (150 km range) / Diesel generator hybrid / Dual electric motors (70 km/h)
PROCUREMENT AND PROGRAM ENGAGEMENT
The MIL-V has been designed, tested, validated and iterated based on real-world feedback. Small volume manufacturing is underway with the ability to scale rapidly to meet program requirements. The platform is available for demonstration, evaluation, and procurement discussions.
Convergence Design Services is actively seeking engagement with Canadian Armed Forces, Department of National Defence, and allied nations.
ABOUT CONVERGENCE DESIGN SERVICES
Ottawa-based Convergence Design Services has over thirty years of experience delivering critical engineering across defence, aerospace, space, and advanced mobility. Formerly known as Blue Systems, the company is 100% Canadian owned, CGP-certified, and has been recognized multiple times as one of Ottawa's fastest-growing companies by the Ottawa Business Journal. Backed by 100% Canadian venture capital firm, Lordon Mayo Inc., Convergence is making a multimillion-dollar investment in defence product innovation and engineering growth.
Noah Note: I had a great chance to see the MIL-V in person at CANSEC and engage with the team while waiting for another meeting. I gotta say, I was very impressed by the teams willingness to talk about their design philosophy here.
We often talk about the 80% solutions a lot, and about how scalable, expedable platforms have a place along with more complex systems. It does not have to be one or the other. MIL-V, as I was told, was an in-house project several years in the work, a large passion project for Convergence who went out of their way to design and build a cheap, mass-producable Canadian product with a Canadian supply chain.
Convergence has previously listed their partners on MIL-V, all but one of which are Canadian. Those are:
Calian
Qi (Ottawa Infotainment)
Pleora Technologies
Tessellate
Volthium
GuardianMobility
STL Engineering
Agile Electromagnetics
Kontron
BTI (Bubble Technology Industries)
North Vector Dynamics
Canimex
The acception here is Kontron, who does maintain a significant Canadian operation, so in my books they do get a pass here as their Canadian capacity does exist to be leveraged. The concept of MIL-V is simple. Cheap as possible, highly-scalable production, and attritable. It is designed to complement more expensive systems while being large enough to firmly place it in the medium category, being icnredibly similar in size to the Mission Master SP while boasting a similar payload capacity and a very good range, especially utilizing the hybrid-mode and battery expansion.
I like that they acknowledged these upgrades, and showcased they had created a pathway for extended operations if desires. It's also the tare example here of a 4x4 UGV in the Medium category, as opposed to the usual 6x6 and 8x8 that we see.
How that choice will play out is yet to be seen, certainly an interesting one from a mobility standpoint. I am curious to see how the platform could perform in off-road and austere enviornments. Time will tell there. They're coming at an awesome time with the UGV RFI out and the CAF looking to secure multiple suppliers
Overall, a very cool design. I saw it with a launched for the NVD CM-70 SPEAR launcher on the back. That was the manned version, but it was pretty cool to see a small, highly-transportable, lightweight CUAS platform!
Often times we focus on the expeditionary and how we prepare for operations in a conflict zone, but there is also roon in the 2nd Division, at least in my opinion, to explore vehicles like this and others that could still be valuable in a domestic environment.
Something to think of….
Impressive numbers for a small vehicle with those features & transportability …..wish them nothing but luck in selling them. Wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t some real world testing taking place in Ukraine.