Canadian UAVs has secured a new mark of approval from Transport Canada for its Sparrowhawk radar, the ground-based detect-and-avoid system the Calgary company has spent a decade building. The regulator issued a Pre-Validated Declaration under its RPAS safety-assurance framework, confirming that the Sparrowhawk radar meets the requirements set out for the technology after ten years of development and more than 50,000 hours of operational use.
The announcement was made on July 2, 2026, and it marks a shift in how Canada is approaching Beyond Visual Line of Sight drone flights. Rather than asking every operator to build its own detect-and-avoid compliance case from the ground up, Transport Canada has already reviewed and accepted the evidence behind the Sparrowhawk radar, giving licensed operators a shortcut to safer and more complicated missions in congested airspace.
How the Sparrowhawk Radar Pre-Validated Declaration Works
A Pre-Validated Declaration is a different process from the standard Safety Assurance Declaration that most equipment makers rely on. Under a SAD, a manufacturer attests that its product meets the rules, and Transport Canada can audit that claim after the fact. A PVD flips that order around: the regulator reviews and formally accepts the manufacturer’s Means of Compliance plan before any declaration is filed. That distinction confirms the Sparrowhawk radar meets Canadian Air Regulations Standard 922, covering both detect, alert, and avoid systems under section 922.10 and the demonstrated environmental envelope under section 922.12. Operators who want to dig into the technical side of the system can review the Sparrowhawk radar product page, where Canadian UAVs lays out how the system blends radar, computer-vision techniques, and ADS-B data into one integrated airspace picture. The Sparrowhawk radar is now the only configurable detect-and-avoid element on Transport Canada’s published PVD eligibility list, though it also remains listed as a configurable element under the standard SAD equipment list.
“This is the milestone we have been building toward for ten years, and it would not have been possible without the leadership Transport Canada has shown in detect-and-avoid regulation.” Sean Greenwood, CEO, Canadian UAVs
What the Sparrowhawk Radar Approval Means for BVLOS Operators
Because the Sparrowhawk radar is a ground-based system rather than hardware bolted to a single aircraft, it is not tied to any one RPAS platform. Operators can pair it with whatever drone a mission calls for, and the detect-and-avoid compliance travels along with the radar rather than the airframe. That flexibility helps explain why the technology has found a home across defence, critical infrastructure, public safety, and industrial work, sectors where BVLOS access can cut both cost and response time. Readers who want more background on how ground-based systems fit into the wider effort to keep drone airspace safe can look at an earlier explainer on detect-and-avoid technology and how it helps prevent mid-air incidents involving small aircraft.
“The PVD process is thorough by design and does not just take your word for it. The process examines every constituent element of the system against defined criteria. With Sparrowhawk having over 50,000 operational hours, we were able to demonstrate that the system works, but our processes for deploying and supporting it are mature and repeatable.” Mahmoud Abdelrahman, Engineering Program Manager, Canadian UAVs
Transport Canada’s approach of validating individual system components, rather than approving each mission on a case-by-case basis, is one of only a few frameworks of its kind in the world. That makes the Sparrowhawk radar’s Pre-Validated Declaration a reference point that reaches beyond Canada’s own borders, since regulators elsewhere who are still drafting their own BVLOS rules now have a working example of evidence-based certification to study. Canadian UAVs holds separate BVLOS-enabling authorizations with both Transport Canada and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, a combination the company says no other detect-and-avoid provider currently matches. The Sparrowhawk radar itself is a portable system that combines radar, computer-vision techniques, and ADS-B to build an integrated airspace picture, and it currently supports customers in defence, energy, agriculture, surveying, logistics, mining, critical infrastructure, and public safety work across North America and Europe.
