Funding Competition: Development of Anti-Drone and Counter UAS Technologies (UK)

The focus areas include development of counter UAS technologies, detection, tracking, identification, decision-making and defeat of UAS threats, dual-use applications across civil, defence, and security domains, protection of critical sites such as airports, prisons, schools, public events and national infrastructure, scalable and cost-effective solutions, and technologies that minimise collateral damage and interference with communications and electronics.

The competition seeks projects that advance solutions capable of addressing both current and emerging UAS threats while ensuring safe and effective operation within existing infrastructure and regulatory frameworks. Applicants are expected to demonstrate how their technologies will operate within legal and regulatory constraints and minimise risks to the public, property, and other airspace users.

Projects must focus on developing, testing, validating, or demonstrating solutions for specific use cases. These include technologies aimed at protecting defence sites, airports, schools, public events, and critical national infrastructure with solutions already at technology readiness level 5 or above and targeting deployment by 2028. In addition, projects may focus on affordable solutions for protecting the UK prison estate, including early-stage developments and laboratory validation of systems typically up to technology readiness level 4, with a longer-term deployment target of 2030.

The total grant funding requested for each project must be between £300,000 and £1.25 million, with project durations ranging from 8 to 12 months.

Eligible applicants must carry out all project work within the United Kingdom and demonstrate an intention to exploit the project results within or from the UK. Projects must begin on the first day of a month and cannot commence until the Grant Offer Letter has been approved.

For more information, visit GOV.UK.