Engineering news
A £6 million innovation initiative has been launched by the Ministry of Defence to fast-track technology that can improve the security and safety of the UK and its armed forces.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has identified nine “challenge areas” for defence and security that it will seek to invest in as part of the funding competition: situational awareness, mobility, lethality, human performance, power, protection, communications, data and lower cost of ownership.
Investment has previously been made by the MoD on the life-saving device being developed by the University of Strathclyde to minimise blood loss in severely injured personnel; and 2iC’s work on secure data exchange between soldiers, vehicles, and bases and between coalition partners and allies.
The £6m Enduring Challenge is run by the MoD’s new Defence and Security Accelerator and will fast-track the best ideas by funding their development, matching suppliers with expert “Innovation Partners”, and boosting supplier access to defence. The competition will run regularly, with up to 12 rounds a year.
Acting head of the Accelerator, Rob Solly, said: “Through the Enduring Challenge we are hoping to reach out to a wide supply base, which can provide us with innovative ideas that challenge our ways of thinking and operating. We will then work with selected suppliers to support them in their development towards market delivery.”
The Accelerator Enduring Challenge builds on the previous Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) Enduring competition by increasing funding and access to government. £6m will be available for the first year of the Enduring Challenge, which includes a second phase of new funding. The first phase will look at ideas in their early stages, while the second phase will nurture promising projects, as well as offering an alternative route for more advanced ideas and technologies.
The first competition of the Accelerator Enduring Challenge is now open, with a deadline of 5 April 2017 to submit proposals. The competition will then operate on a regular basis with up to 12 rounds per year.