Competition: Stopping it in its tracks
This new Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition is seeking novel approaches to stopping or impeding tanks and other heavy armoured vehicles on the battlefield.
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This Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition seeks proposals for novel approaches to stopping or impeding tanks and other heavy armoured vehicles while preventing or minimising collateral damage. We hope to achieve this through harnessing advances in engineering, design, materials science, computing and non-kinetic weapons.
We welcome proposals relating to physical barriers or effects (such as traps and rapid ways to build them, or interference with wheels and tracks). We are also interested in invisible barriers or effects such as non-kinetic (non-explosive) weapons which could slow or disable vehicles such as those employing electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or sonic based methods. Approaches that disable the target’s ability to fight are also acceptable.
We are not interested in any explosive-based solutions such as anti-tank mines or solutions involving direct or indirect fire weapons.
The primary focus of this competition is defence, but we are also interested in technologies that have wider security applications. Technologies that address a similar capability requirement within the civil sector, such as preventing vehicle-related terrorist attacks, will be considered if they are demonstrated to be effective against military class vehicles and capable of being deployed in a wide range of operational environments related to defence.
DASA are interested in proof-of-concept technologies in Phase 1 of this competition with the aim of using subsequent phases to further develop the technologies and integrate them into deployable solutions. In the longer term, potential solutions should be capable of being scaled-up for deployment over large battlefield areas, be passive and be autonomous or semi-autonomous.
Total funding of up to £1 million is available in Phase 1 of this competition from which we anticipate funding around 10 projects. Additional funding is anticipated to be available for future phases of this competition.
Queries should be sent to accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.