mode40 and Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) have announced the launch of the AeroTrace Initiative, a programme designed to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across aerospace and defence manufacturers in the Prairie provinces of Canada.
This initiative will involve nine manufacturers—three each from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta—focusing on AI-enabled systems for operational intelligence and traceability.
The AeroTrace Initiative seeks to provide manufacturers with specific discovery and opportunity assessments, technical support, and validation activities. Each participating company will receive a tailored implementation or pilot planning process. The programme aims to improve operational visibility, quality management, and compliance support, whilst also enhancing supplier performance and asset monitoring.
Brittany Scarrow, Vice President of Prairie Operations and Member Services at CME, stated, "AeroTrace brings manufacturers, funders, and industry stakeholders together with mode40 to test these capabilities in real operations and generate evidence the broader sector can use."
The initiative is structured to minimise costs and risks for manufacturers, with funding shared equally between mode40, CME, and the participating companies. Cameron Bergen, Founder and CEO of mode40, emphasised the importance of operational AI, saying, "AeroTrace is designed to prove that value manufacturer by manufacturer and create a repeatable model the sector can trust."
The results from the nine projects will be consolidated into an industry white paper, which will explore the practical value of AI-based systems and provide recommendations for broader sector adoption. Findings will be anonymised and governed by confidentiality and security controls
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