Countering Illegal Use of UAS Around Prisons and Sensitive Sites

UKDI submissions are welcome from the private sector, academia and Public Sector Research Establishments (PSRE’s). UKDI will examine the legal status of organisations prior to placement of any contract or agreement. In most cases there are no nationality restrictions, however UKDI individual competition documents will detail any necessary restrictions.

UKDI encourage collaboration between innovators for this competition. To support this, they have a short survey to collect details of those who wish to explore collaboration possibilities. If you are interested, please complete the collaboration survey by 26 March 2026.

Projects should start mid-July 2026, and project duration should be equal to or less than 12 months.

The total funding available is up to £1.85m (excluding VAT). A number of proposals may be funded.

We want novel ideas to benefit end-users working in UK defence and security. Your proposal should include evidence of:

• your innovation having the potential of being translated into a practical demonstration in the future, whether it be theoretical development, method / technical advancement or proof of concept research
• innovation or a creative approach
• clear demonstration of how the proposed work applies to different defence and security use cases and contexts. Namely, MOJ, HMPPS, MOD, NDA, Home Office and Police
• novel, legally and ethically compliant ideas that enhance last-line defence capabilities
• evidence of scalability, adaptability, and rapid integration into operational settings.
• solutions that minimise collateral impact and demonstrate clear pathways to exploitation
• solutions that utilise open architecture (such as SAPIENT) to enable integration with other UK counter UAS systems
• consideration of how the solution can be future proofed to readily adapt to changing technologies and threats which it seeks to counter
• protective security
• defeat capabilities that also have integrated ‘Detect, Track and Identify’ (DTI)

The increasing use of drones by hostile actors in both urban and sensitive environments (such as prisons and critical national infrastructure (CNI)) poses a growing threat to public safety.

Criminal groups and threat actors are using drones as a low risk mechanism for contraband delivery, surveillance, and disruption, often with high success rates.

Traditional defeat methods (e.g. kinetic interceptors, broad-spectrum jamming, explosive munitions) are often unsuitable due to the risk of collateral damage, legal constraints, and operational impracticality in confined or populated settings. There is a clear need for innovative, low-collateral defeat technologies that can be safely deployed as the last line of defence when other mitigation layers have failed or are unavailable.

This competition seeks to identify and accelerate the development of such technologies, with a focus on scalable, safe, and operationally viable solutions.

This competition seeks to accelerate the development of innovative, low-collateral technologies to counter UAS  in sensitive operational environments such as prisons, urban areas, and sites near critical national infrastructure.

We are inviting proposals that address the following:

• act as a last line of defence once a UAS has breached secure perimeters, neutralising  threats and operating within the powers available to Prison Officers (i.e. not requiring a firearms license)
• neutralise drones with minimal collateral impact  to people, infrastructure and communications (and/or prevent the drone from delivering payloads to intended targets)
• are safe  for use in sensitive operational environments such as custodial settings, urban areas, or near critical national infrastructure, which often feature varied layouts, building materials   and congested signal networks. Where successful, the innovation could be implemented across similar sites and rapidly ‘scaled’ across different applications
• can be rapidly deployed by a minimal team without the need for specialist training
• offer adaptability to different UAS types, sizes and behaviours. Technologies in this area are fast developing we are keen to understand how your innovation can keep up with the pace of development
• are legally and ethically compliant, with full consideration for operational constraints and easily integrated into existing security frameworks  such as RIPA, SAPIENT, The Prison Act 1952 and The Police Act 1997

UKDI are not interested in proposals that:

• constitute consultancy, paper-based studies or literature reviews which just summarise the existing literature without any view of future innovation
• an identical resubmission of a previous UKDI bid without modification
• offer demonstrations of off-the-shelf products requiring no experimental development (unless applied in a novel way to the challenge)
• offer no real long-term prospect of integration into defence and security capabilities
• offer no real prospect of out-competing existing technological solutions
• high-collateral kinetic solutions (e.g. use of firearms, explosive interceptors) – note ‘hunter capture’ interceptor technology is within scope
• static/fixed physical capture technologies or static physical target hardening measures (e.g. netting)
• concepts requiring extensive infrastructure overhaul
• solutions not demonstrably scalable or adaptable to real-world operational environments
• technologies that only detect UAS. Defeat capabilities that also have integrated DTI,  would be in scope.
• technologies with a dependency on Radio Frequency (RF) jamming using library-based systems

This competition has two main challenges, aligned to different technology readiness levels (TRL) and development timelines. Innovators may address one or both challenges.

All innovations should show potential to progress into a future operational solution.

Please refer to the competition scope for full guidance on how to respond to both challenges. This competition aims to have full coverage at various locations across the UK.

Both challenges are seeking concepts that offer novel approaches to counter UAS. These solutions should focus on innovation, with project development expected over stipulated timescales for each challenge.

Challenge Area 1: Higher TRL Solutions

Should reach TRL 7 by the end of the project, with a maximum project length of 3-6 months. These innovations should have a clear pathway towards deployment and provide a technology prototype demonstration in an operational environment. Test environments will be provided as part of delivery, with options across different regions and types of site.

Innovators should include within their proposal costs, at least £5000 ringfenced for travel and subsistence (e.g. accommodation) to attend the demonstration site. This will be adjusted once innovation details are matched to a representative environment such as HMP Dartmoor, 17 NDA sites or another suitable location  that will be determined by the authority and plans agreed.

Challenge Area 2: Medium TRL Concepts for Future Capability

Should reach TRL 4 or 5 by the end of the project, with a maximum project length of 12 months. A physical technical demonstration is optional, but can include a suitable method to present final outcome.

17 February 2026 – UKDI hosted a launch webinar providing further detail on the problem space and a chance to ask questions in an open forum. You can watch a recording of the webinar on YouTube.

If you are uncertain of the relevance of your innovation, it is strongly recommended that you contact your local UKDI Innovation Partner to discuss your idea. You can initiate this through the submission of a Contact UKDI Form by following instructions on the Contact a UKDI Innovation Partner page if you do not already have an established relationship with your local Innovation Partner.

You can also contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Defence and Security team for advice.