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.

In this competition UKDI will be running a 2-stage application process to help innovators understand early on, and with reduced effort, if their idea is appropriate for the competition and to make the review and decision-making process more efficient. Stage 1 proposals (idea overview with technical plan outline) must be submitted by 12pm on 11 August 2026. Submissions that demonstrate a good fit will be invited to progress to Stage 2 and submit a full proposal, due by 15 September 2026.

Successful applicants after stage 2 will be invited to Project Phase 1 (an initial proof of concept which should start in November 2026 and must be completed within 3 months, with funding of up to £60,000 per project). Project Phase 2 only will be open to those successful in Project Phase 1, with funding of up to £200,000 per project.

This call is to address the objectives of the Autonomy Programme by identifying and exploring novel and potentially disruptive ideas within the UK supplier base that may impact future Defence capability.  Areas of S&T that may be applicable to this call are broad, however, ideas must be novel and must have the potential to be applicable in some form to improving future RAS capability. As guidance – ideas may lead to (but are not restricted to) improved:

• physical robotics aspects (e.g. propulsion, power storage, sensors, structural components, communications, actuators, effectors and overall design paradigms)
• methods of managing, integrating and using information from different sources (giving rise to e.g. improved navigation, increased ability to function when information sources conflict, better discrimination of objects in the environment, improved ability to operate in non-benign conditions, improved efficiency/ range)
• high level autonomous behaviours/system intelligence
• wider interactions (e.g. system of systems coordination, human-machine interaction, swarming)
• system survivability (e.g. improved ruggedness, resilience to attack, stealthiness, graceful degradation).

We are looking for novel ideas starting at TRL1-2, that can be further explored to better understand their ability to impact on future Defence capability. We will prioritise proposals with the potential to have the greatest impact on Defence, including through disruption of traditional technologies or ways of thinking.

Launch webinar: 20 July 2026 2pm to 3:30pm (BST): this launch webinar will provide further detail on the problem space and a chance for attendees to ask questions in an open forum. If you would like to participate, please register on the Eventbrite page.

If you’re unsure whether your idea is in scope, UKDI strongly recommend you contact your local Innovation Partner via the Contact UKDI form. They will explore the suitability of your innovation for the competition and, if needed, advise you on submitting an Innovation Outline (a brief summary of your innovation that is used by the competition team to advise you whether your innovation is in scope for the competition). UKDI cannot guarantee a response to a query after 28 July 2026 for stage 1 submissions and 25 August 2026 for stage 2 submissions.

Non-technical questions about the competition process should be sent to the UKDI Help Centre, accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.

You can also contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Security & Defence team.