New funding announced for British Army protection systems

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and Alec Shelbrooke MP minister of state for the Ministry of Defence have announced funding to increase scalable protection options for the UK's armoured land vehicles.

An investment of £15 million over three years, funded by the British Army, intends to enable Dstl to deliver the follow-on phase of the Icarus Technology Demonstrator Programme (TDP).

The programme developed and demonstrated the Modular Integrated Protection System (MIPS) Open Architecture Standard (the MIPS standard) to Technology Readiness Level 5 (TRL 5).

The new funding will build on the MIPS standard to demonstrate a modular, flexible Active Protection System (APS) at high maturity (TRL 7).

The next stage of MIPS aims to enable the UK to develop future capabilities, including improved sensors, information processing, effectors and high-speed directors, as well as improved infrastructure component technologies.

Minister for Defence Procurement, Alec Shelbrooke said: “Our Armed Forces keep us safe around the clock and it’s incumbent upon us to do all we can to protect them and adapt to future threats.

“The war in Ukraine has highlighted the importance of well protected armoured vehicles. We are supporting the Army to modernise and remain at the forefront of cutting-edge capabilities.

“This is an important step forward in researching the latest technology to improve protection for armoured vehicles, helping them prevent and repel attacks from the ground and air.”

Dstl’s Active Protection expert Tom Newbery said: “This is such an exciting opportunity for Dstl and Industry to work together to deliver a step change in vehicle survivability by taking MIPS to the next level of maturity. MIPS has the potential to open up a range of capability options for Army, improving vehicle survivability against the most challenging threats now and in the future.”