United Kingdom Defense Seeks Cooperative Missiles Technology

The UK MOD seeks novel innovations from industry and academia to identify and develop novel technologies that could be exploited in the development of a new category of missile – Cooperative Missiles. Cooperative Missiles are missiles that can communicate with each other, share situational awareness and organize themselves to ‘work together’ efficiently during an engagement and within operator-set constraints, to achieve a common objective. The implementation of Cooperative Missiles will offer UK armed forces’ enhanced capability, providing a significant advantage in comparison to its current capability.

Outcomes Cooperative Missiles should achieve:

•    Evaluate collateral damage during live missions and provide safety data updates if non-combatants enter the battlefield post-launch. 
•    Share vital information to ensure an abort function is carried out during a live mission under human operator authority.
•    To overmatch the capability of potential adversaries by improving the performance of individual missiles through use of sophisticated seekers or navigation systems.

Note: Operation of UK missile systems will always remain under human control and the MOD is only interested in technologies that could enable cooperation between missiles within this context.

The MOD is seeking proposals where the innovation should output over a range of Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3-5. Successful proposals will present credible plans for progressing new, advanced technologies which could underpin a future cooperative missile.

Throughout this project, the UK missile strategic partners, MBDA and Thales will provide technical support to the MOD. As a result, MBDA and Thales are excluded from joining this project. MBDA and Thales may have access to proposals during the assessment stage of the project and may provide technical support at the decision conference. They may also provide technical oversight to the MOD through conduction of successful proposals. Information will be shared in confidence with MBDA and/or Thales (under a non-disclosure agreement), and only for the specific purpose of technical support to this project, and for no other purpose.

U.S. companies in the defense industry have a strong reputation for innovation, research, reliability, and after the sale service which make them very competitive in the UK market. If you would like to learn more about the MOD’s Cooperative Missiles program, or to learn more about defense opportunities in the UK, please contact PJ Menner at the U.S. Embassy London via PJ.Menner@trade.gov.