Photo: Hanwha Systems

Canadian space companies Telesat and MDA Space announced separate MoU’s with Korean tech company Hanwha Systems on Monday to explore collaboration with Korea’s plans for a sovereign Low-Earth Orbit defense constellation, K-LEO. 

In November 2025, the Canadian government reached a collaborative agreement with South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) related to next-generation commercial space systems. K-LEO is a Korean initiative for sovereign defense capabilities and secure communication for national security operations. 

Telesat announced Jan. 26 that it plans to work with Hanwha Systems on defense user terminals that are compatible with K-LEO and Telesat Lightspeed. 

Telesat and Hanwha have also agreed to cooperate on the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), where Hanwha intends to include significant, multi-year Telesat Lightspeed services as a key part of its bid. Hanwha Ocean has been shortlisted to supply up to 12 submarines to the Royal Canadian Navy under CPSP, along with Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. Hanwha will also look to apply Telesat Lightspeed services to various platforms within its weapon systems to explore potential business collaboration opportunities throughout the global defense market.

“This partnership enhances our ability to deliver secure, sovereign LEO communications for defense and maritime operations,” Jae-il Son, president and CEO of Hanwha Systems said in a statement. “By expanding partnerships with trusted global leaders, Hanwha Systems will continue to strengthen its position in the global market and advance its role as a key defense and space technology provider,”

Separately, Hanwha Systems and Canadian satellite manufacturer MDA Space plan to collaborate on the development of the K-LEO constellation and assess how the Aurora software-defined architecture can support Hanwha.

“This collaboration highlights the global confidence in MDA Aurora’s secure dual-use software-defined satellite technology to deliver mission-critical flexibility, performance, and resilience for national defence networks. Together with Hanwha, we look forward to advancing Korea’s defence infrastructure and enabling a new era of secure connectivity,” MDA Space CEO Mike Greenly commented.