Innovation Exchange challenge: Integrated Air and Missile Defence
BAE Systems invites innovative solutions that can support the timely and successful conduct of Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) in response to increasingly complex and diverse threats.
Opportunity Details
When
Registration Opens
17/03/2025
Registration Closes
30/05/2025
Award
Successful applicants will be invited to the BAE Systems Codeathon in Portsmouth during July 2025. The Codeathon will provide an opportunity to directly engage with BAE Systems and other innovators and to pitch your solution to BAE Systems.
Background
Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) brings together the core elements of sensing, decision making, kinetic and non-kinetic effects to provide defence against contemporary airborne threats.
The market opportunity for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in IAMD is significant and growing, driven by the increasing range and complexity of modern airborne threats, technological advancements, and the need for more agile and cost effective solutions. SMEs can leverage their flexibility, innovation, and specialized expertise to offer unique contributions to the IAMD ecosystem.
This challenge is being set by BAE Systems the UK’s largest defence and security company that serve, supply and protect those who serve and protect us. At BAE Systems, we provide some of the world’s most advanced, technology-led defence, aerospace and security solutions. Technology and innovation are central to our business.
They underpin our strategy and the development of our products and services. Developing innovative technologies is a key part of the work we do to ensure we have a sustainable business that will continue to create value for our stakeholders and inspire our employees. Partnering with academic and industrial leaders we develop new technologies to support our future product strategies. This enables us to deliver innovative, affordable and effective capabilities to our customers and drive sustainable growth within the business.
Our customers place a strong emphasis on innovation and working with SMEs to enhance the capability and effectiveness of the nation’s defence. They recognise that SMEs can play a crucial role in providing cutting-edge technologies, specialised skills, and innovative solutions that complement the larger defence contractors.
Modern challenges in defence are multifaceted and continuously evolving, driven by technological advancements, geopolitical shifts, and new forms of warfare. These challenges are shaped by a blend of state and non-state actors, and they require innovative solutions, agility, and international cooperation.
Any information, data or software shared by any participant in the Codeathon will not be considered confidential. Participating in the Codeathon will not affect the ownership of existing IP. Any IP created during the Codeathon will be vested in the generator.
The Challenge
This challenge is inviting SMEs, Research Technology Organisations (RTOs) and university research programmes to demonstrate innovative solutions to capability that will ensure the timely and successful conduct of future Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD).
IAMD refers to a coordinated defence system that combines various types of air defence systems, sensors, command and control networks, and interceptors to protect against a wide range of airborne threats, including aircraft, missiles (both ballistic and cruise), drones, and other aerial threats. The goal of IAMD is to provide a layered, seamless defence that maximizes the use of available resources to detect, track, engage, and neutralize threats before they reach their intended targets.
BAE Systems is actively seeking partnerships with SMEs to stay at the forefront of technological innovation. By collaborating on research and development (R&D), SMEs can have their innovations integrated into broader IAMD systems, gaining exposure to larger markets and benefiting from the infrastructure, experience, scale and assurance of BAE Systems. SMEs can act as subcontractors or technology partners, contributing specific capabilities, such as advanced algorithms, into a larger project.
To ensure broad applicability, your solution should be effective across land, air, and sea domains. It should also embrace an open-interface approach, enabling seamless interoperability with other systems within the IAMD framework.
Key considerations include safety, security, and reliability—your solution must be safe to use, free from security vulnerabilities, and dependable under operational conditions. Additionally, it should deliver strong performance in meeting mission-critical demands.
Who can apply?
This opportunity is open to both academic and industrial practitioners. Industrial participants can be established businesses, start-ups or SMEs of any size. Research Technology Organisations (RTOs) such as Catapults are eligible to apply.
Rewards and market opportunity
Successful applicants will be invited to the BAE Systems Codeathon in Portsmouth during July 2025. The Codeathon will provide an opportunity to directly engage with BAE Systems and other innovators and to pitch your solution to BAE Systems. BAE Systems will continue to engage with the best solutions on suitable next steps to mature their solutions and engage with potential customers. Innovative solutions that support timely and effective Integrated Air and Missile Defence could have access to a market estimated at around £21,469M and is projected to reach £33,108M by 2031.
Related programme
Innovation Exchange
Innovate UK Innovation Exchange is a cross-sector programme supporting innovation transfer by matching industry challenges to innovative companies from other sectors. It does this by putting large businesses with technical needs in contact with companies who have the right innovative solutions, for faster development of novel solutions.