KWESST Micro Systems establishes ATAK Center of Excellence in Ottawa

KWESST Micro Systems Inc (TSXV:KWE) (OTCQB:KWEMF) said it has established an ATAK Center of Excellence in Ottawa, Canada, which it said will facilitate customer requirements for integration into the US battlefield management application known as Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK).  ATAK is an Android geospatial and situational awareness system that provides users with a drop-down menu of approved operational applications for shared situational awareness. It is the pre-eminent system used by more than a dozen US government agencies and many NATO allies and partner nations.  READ: KWESST Micro Systems notes filing of provisional patent for non-lethal munitions technology system KWESST noted on March 16 that it was officially sponsored by US military authorities to integrate certain of its networked soldier applications into ATAK. In conjunction, the US military provided the company with the necessary specialized software necessary. "Since then, we have received many requests from government agencies and defense contractors in Canada and overseas to assist them with integrating their current or new applications into ATAK and providing through-life support. We are already engaged with a number of customers and have many others in the queue. As a result, we are ramping up a dedicated practice for this and leveraging our expertise in ATAK integration," KWESST president and chief executive Jeff MacLeod said in a statement. KWESST also said the ATAK center is a natural extension of its core business around digitizing applications for shared situational awareness and targeting, and that the center can assist government and industry clients with end-to-end ATAK application development, facilitate approval with US ATAK authorities, and provide ongoing support. "Apart from the revenue potential, this further positions KWESST as a leader in the digitization of land forces at the tactical level, pushing critical information and high-value applications to the individual soldier on the ground and back up through the chain of command. This continues to be a key missing link in the modernization of soldier systems," MacLeod said. "To our knowledge, KWESST is the only Canadian company with the credentials, official US military sponsorship, specialized software and the experience to facilitate ATAK integration. We believe that this can contribute incrementally to our 2021 revenue plan, with recurring support revenue growth in out-years," the CEO added. Contact the author at calum@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @Cal_Proac