United Kingdom Ministry of Defense Seeks Disruptive Innovation

The UK Ministry of Defense is seeking assistance from industry and academia to develop novel science and technology in distributed Radio Frequency sensing; integrated RF effects; and provision of Position, Navigation and Timing as a Service that all contribute to delivering disruptive change compared to current Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.

One of the most significant enduring capability challenges for the MOD is pervasive, full spectrum, multi domain ISR.  An increasingly congested and complex Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) makes it essential for the MOD to develop capabilities for situational awareness and adversary affecting systems reliant on the EMS, while also using the EMS for understanding military operations effectiveness. 

The MOD is seeking innovative proposals from industry and academia which support targeting, delivery, and post-action assessment of active Radio Frequency (RF) effects, including Electronic Attack and Electronic Countermeasures.  Proposals should describe how the solution would be demonstrated against various scenarios using lab or field demonstrations, modelling and analysis.  Proposals should also show evidence of how the solution would be enabled by self-configuring and adaptable architectures.  Proposals are not expected to be fully operational but should demonstrate a vision for how the innovation could mature and deliver benefits in a deployed context.

For the proposals to achieve the desired effects, the MOD will consider a range of platforms incorporated into the proposals including, but not limited to, dismountable and man-portable systems through to Unmanned Vehicles as well as proposals that could be mounted onto manned vehicles.  Proposals should provide specific technical considerations for RF sensing/effectors as payloads on proposed platforms.

This call for proposals by the MOD is intended to be very broad and provides industry and academia an excellent opportunity to directly engage and with scientists and engineers from the MOD.  Accepted proposals may result in a feasibility study accompanied by funding which then may lead to a MOD program of record. 

The MOD is particularly interested in innovations from non-traditional defense suppliers and have a dedicated team of Innovation Partners who can discuss your innovations and the defense sector with you.  

For more information on how to submit a proposal to the MOD or on other opportunities in the UK defense and security sectors, please contact PJ Menner at the U.S. Embassy London at PJ.Menner@trade.gov.