Macdonald Dettwiler & Associates Ltd. announced the signing of a $706 million contract with the Canadian Space Agency to build, launch and provide initial operations for the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM). The contract is expected to extend over a period of seven years and brings MDA's current backlog to approximately $2.9 billion. RCM is a constellation of three satellites providing around-the-clock coverage.

Information obtained from RCM can include repeat imaging of the same area at different times of day, dramatically improving the frequency of monitoring coastal zones, northern territories, Arctic waterways and other areas of strategic and defence interest. RCM will also incorporate automated identification system technology, which when combined with the powerful radar images, supports the immediate detection and identification of ships worldwide.