£2 million fund to counter drones threat

The Ministry of Defence has launched a £2 million competition for proposals to tackle the future threats posed by hostile Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS).

Run by the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), the competition is seeking to develop new defensive capabilities which draw upon autonomous decision-making mechanisms and networked sensing systems capable of detecting, tracking, identifying and defeating hostile UAS over complex and varied environments.

The competition is the latest stage in Defence Science and Technology Lab’s (Dstl) ongoing research programme into Countering UAS which has been running for ten years, which has included the landmark series of ‘Bristow’ trials with industry in 2013, 2015 and 2018.

The latest call is focused on tackling the challenges of current and future UAS capabilities, in particular: next-generation counter-UAS technology; flexible counter-UAS technology; and countering future UAS systems.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “As the security threats from hostile drones are evolving at pace, it’s critical that our armed forces benefit from the very latest technology to stay ahead. This competition will draw on the brightest and best of our defence industry to find innovative solutions that will ensure we are protected in the years to come.”