Burlington, Ontario – 28 October 2026 – PV Labs is pleased to announce it has been approved for funding under Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy and Investment Framework, enabling a strategic investment by Lockheed Martin to support the development of a next-generation Pilot Night Vision Sensor (PNVS) for the Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopter.
The approved Investment Framework, aligned to Canada’s procurement of 26 Lockheed Martin High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), establishes a multi-year roadmap to design and develop an advanced staring-array PNVS designed to enhance Apache helicopter operations in adverse weather, degraded visual environments, and nighttime conditions.
The initiative represents a significant opportunity to contribute to advanced defence sensor development and manufacturing capabilities in Canada while supporting a critical capability for one of the world’s most widely deployed military helicopter platforms.
As a Canadian Small and Medium-sized Business (SMB), PV Labs has built a strong track record of enabling international aerospace and defence original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to enhance their capabilities through the integration of Canadian innovation and content.
Through applied research and development, technology trade studies, prototype development, and support for domestic manufacturing transitions, PV Labs contributes significantly to Canada’s innovation ecosystem, intellectual property creation, and defence industrial base growth.
“At a time when aerospace and defence sectors are seeing unprecedented momentum, Ontario companies are developing the innovative technologies needed to strengthen global supply chains and drive economic growth at home,” said Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.
“Through this partnership with Lockheed Martin, PV Labs will enhance the Apache helicopter with next-generation night-vision sensors, showcasing Ontario-made innovation at a new scale. We congratulate the PV Labs team on this incredible accomplishment and look forward to seeing this project further enhance Ontario’s industrial capacity.”
Leveraging decades of expertise in optronics technologies, airborne ISR systems, and successful execution of ITB-driven programs, PV Labs is uniquely positioned to support the design, prototyping, qualification, and production readiness of a next-generation sensor system.
“This Investment Framework approval represents a significant milestone for PV Labs and underscores the strength and maturity of Canadian innovation within the global aerospace and defence industry, including its potential integration on one of the world’s most trusted and capable rotary-wing platforms, the Apache helicopter,” said Mark Chamberlain, President and Founder, PV Labs.
“It reflects the confidence placed in PV Labs as a low-risk, high-performance technology partner and reinforces our position as Lockheed Martin’s trusted R&D and delivery partner of choice in Canada for complex, advanced optronics systems. Working alongside Lockheed Martin and supported by Canada’s ITB Policy, we have the opportunity to develop a world-class pilotage sensor capability while strengthening Canada’s advanced defence technology and manufacturing base.”
“With over 85 years of presence and partnership in Canada, we are dedicated to strengthening a Canadian defence industry that drives meaningful economic impact,” said Kristen Leroux, Vice President and Regional Executive for Canada and Latin America at Lockheed Martin. “This investment champion’s PV Labs’ growth and manufacturing capabilities, advancing opportunities for Canadian industry access to global supply chains.”
About PV Labs
PV Labs is a Canadian dual-use aerospace and defence technology company specializing in advanced optronics systems, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) solutions, and mission-critical sensing technologies. The company designs and develops innovative, high-performance capabilities for defence, security, and commercial applications, delivering trusted solutions to customers worldwide.
About Lockheed Martin Canada
Headquartered in Ottawa, Lockheed Martin Canada is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, with over 85-years of partnership supporting Canada. Lockheed Martin Canada develops sovereign solutions that are exported from Canada to our allies, strengthening Canada’s defence industry and value globally. Over 1300 Canadian employees accelerate the delivery of all-domain mission capability, providing advanced software engineering, systems design and integration, hardware design and manufacturing, training and sustainment services. More information at lockheedmartin.ca.
Noah Note: Great to see PV Labs get some love. Really smart team there, and they’re doing some amazing work that sadly doesn’t get lots of love from folks. Also great to see them pushing deeper into the Apache supply chain, especially as we start to look into our own rotary renewal.
Lockheed has been on a bit of an investment push into the Canadian ecosystem over the last few months, some of it public and some still quiet but moving ahead. We’ve seen them move on Lemay.ai and Contextere (just yesterday, too) on the CC-130J; they’re moving on autonomous systems through partnerships like Sentinel Consortium; they just closed on the acquisition of Ultra Maritime; and now this…
It’s quite a lot in such a short period. Makes you wonder. Of course, there is interest in the Apache on our side through nTACS Phase II, which will aim to acquire a rotary attack platform as part of our wider rotary renewal. Right now, the expectation is that we will be acquiring a full attack helicopter, not a conversion or lighter platform like the H145M with Spike.
Options are limited, but people are still going to be moving to build relations as we await the release of the RFI. Just sayin’.