Counter UAS Technologies

Overview

The Counter UAS Technologies competition is designed to accelerate the development of innovative dual-use technologies that can address the growing risks associated with unauthorised and hostile drone activity. Delivered by Innovate UK, the programme supports solutions that can operate across both civil and defence settings, helping strengthen the UK’s national security and critical infrastructure resilience.

As the use of drones rapidly expands across commercial and public sectors, so too does the need for effective counter-UAS systems capable of protecting airports, prisons, public events, defence facilities and critical national infrastructure. This competition offers organisations an opportunity to develop, test and validate technologies that can be deployed in real-world operational environments.

The programme also aims to strengthen sovereign UK capability in a fast-growing global market, supporting ambitious companies developing scalable technologies with strong export and commercialisation potential.

Scope of the Competition

Projects must focus on the development, testing or demonstration of innovative counter-UAS technologies that can be applied in operational settings.

Projects can address challenges such as:

• Detection and identification of drone threats
• Monitoring and tracking of unauthorised UAS activity
• Threat response and neutralisation technologies
• Protection of airports, defence sites and critical infrastructure
• Counter-UAS systems for the prison estate and public safety environments
• Mobile or rapidly deployable protection systems

The competition is particularly interested in technologies that can strengthen resilience against evolving drone threats while supporting future airspace integration and scalability.

Key Focus Areas

The competition welcomes a broad range of innovative technologies and approaches, including:

• Advanced drone detection and monitoring systems
• Threat intelligence and automated response technologies
• Layered counter-UAS defence systems
• Low-collateral neutralisation approaches
• AI-enabled monitoring and decision-support systems
• Portable or flexible deployment solutions

Projects targeting airports, critical infrastructure and defence environments are expected to demonstrate strong operational readiness and deployment potential, while prison-focused technologies may focus on earlier-stage innovation with future scalability.