Notice

Competition document: ‘Take Cover!’ Lightweight rapidly deployable protection on the front-line through Field Fortifications

Updated 5 September 2018

1. Introduction

This Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) challenge led competition seeks proposals for innovative technologies that provide improved ways to protect small groups of dismounted troops in the field.

Within defence and security, protection of personnel is a priority area and deployment of rapid protection solutions for dismounted troops on the front-line is of high importance. This competition seeks to access recent developments in both materials science and novel design technologies to provide advanced protection solutions for our troops.

In this competition, DASA is seeking proposals that develop and demonstrate proof of concept materials, designs and deployment technologies, which can be integrated into a field fortification solution during later competition phases.

There is funding of up to £600k available in Phase 1 of the competition. It is anticipated that significant additional funding will be available for further phases of the competition.

The call closes at midday on 24 October 2018.

2. Competition scope

2.1 Background

The current technologies for in-field temporary fortifications for dismounted soldiers are reaching the end of their natural life. Traditionally, they have consisted of corrugated iron and sandbags, as depicted in Figure 1, to provide structural support and overhead protection. Current dimensions for the 4-Man Battle Trench are 1.5m wide x 1.5m deep x 7.75m long but given the additional equipment soldiers now carry, a 25% increase on width has been suggested.

Figure 1 - Field fortification constructions

Figure 1 - Field fortification constructions

This is an opportunity to apply modern materials and structural design to achieve improved performance by developing lightweight, rapidly deployable protection for troops and other force elements.

2.2 Scope

The competition focuses on novel materials, designs and deployment technologies for field fortifications that are easily stored, transported and rapidly deployed.

Deployed fortifications should protect from ballistic threats, blast/fragmentation and ground shock, however, protection against directed energy threats is also of interest. Directed energy can include rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), high-energy lasers or other novel weapons.

Observability (in multiple environments) across the optical, infra-red (IR), ultra-violet (UV) and radio-frequency (RF) spectra will need to be considered, especially for future phases. However whilst this is not a call for camouflage technologies as such, innovative camouflage, concealment and deception (CCD) proposals that could form part of an overall solution are welcomed. The solution may also be utilised for discreet protection of cached equipment.

Whilst chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear (CBRN) threats are not the focus of this competition, it is worth noting that in an operational situation, the solution may be deployed in a CBRN environment.

3. Competition challenges

Phase 1 is intended to fund different approaches that demonstrate proof of concept ideas, which can be further developed and integrated into a deployable solution in future phases. Collaboration will be encouraged to integrate promising solutions in future phases. Initial ideas at Phase 1 should address one or more of the following challenges:

3.1 Challenge 1

Novel materials (or combination of materials) that can protect against impact, small arms fire, heavy calibre rounds and fragmentation. As an initial guide, suppliers would need to demonstrate, with evidence of performance:

Above ground protective measures which protect against

• blast and fragmentation effects of an artillery shell detonating nearby
• ballistic penetration by up to 14.5 mm Armour Piercing Incendiary (API) round fired at point blank range

Below ground protective measures which demonstrate the ability to protect against

• ground shock produced by an artillery shell detonating nearby, without collapse or deformation large enough to endanger occupants

It would be desirable to have some capability of withstanding vehicle run-over. For the purposes of this call, we are looking at armoured military vehicle size, which can span a broad range.

Size and mass of the protective materials is a consideration.

3.2 Challenge 2

Innovative structures that can be easily stored, transported and rapidly deployed by troops in forward operating positions with minimal burden, including tools required for construction. Examples could include novel self-erecting, inflatable or folding structures.

3.3 Challenge 3

Novel methods to strengthen and support the structures once deployed, such as bracing technologies or chemical curing.

3.4 Clarification of what we want

In the long-term, field fortifications should be designed for multiple people (and their equipment) but not more than ten people. It should be noted that this solution should not consist of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as is already provided by personal ballistic protection such as body armour and helmets. The proposed shelter should also be designed to allow personnel to operate for a number of days. The solution may also be utilised for discreet protection of cached equipment.

The technology can be redeployable or single use. It is recognised that there may not be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to the challenge, so solutions including layered technologies or a suite of technologies should also be considered.

Potential for future modularity, flexibility and scalability should be borne in mind, as well as different operating environments (for example, mountain, desert, jungle, urban) and climates (for example, temperate, tropical, arid, polar).

Your proposal should include:

• innovation
• novel ideas for defence and/or security
• a clear demonstration of the pathway to future exploitation
• clear demonstration of how the proposed work builds on existing published or open knowledge
• a materials-focussed approach to the problem (such as making use of a range of material characteristics to provide a holistic protection solution)

3.5 Clarification of what we do not want

For this competition we are not interested in proposals for:

• consultancy, paper-based studies or literature reviews
• solutions that do not offer significant benefit to defence/security
• proposals that only offer a written report
• proposals that cannot demonstrate feasibility within the Phase 1 timescale of 6 months
• minor improvements in existing high Technology Readiness Level (TRL 5+) technologies
• demonstrations of off-the-shelf products requiring no experimental development
• identical resubmission of a previous bid to DASA or MOD without modification
• incremental improvements on existing technology
• proposals which offer no real long-term prospect of integration into defence capabilities
• proposals with no real prospect of out-performing existing technological solutions

4. Exploitation

It is important that over the lifetime of DASA competitions, ideas are accelerated towards appropriate end-users, to enhance capability. How long this takes will be dependent on the nature and starting point of the innovation. Early identification and appropriate engagement with potential users during the competition and subsequent phases is essential.

All proposals to DASA should articulate the development in TRL of the output over the lifetime of the contract and how this relates to improved operational capability. For this competition it is envisaged that proposals will start at around TRL 2. The deliverables in your proposal (especially the final demonstration) should be designed to provide evidence that you have reached the intended TRL (around TRL 3) by the end of the contract. The final demonstration should evidence that full development of the solution would indeed provide improved operational capability to the user.

Subsequent phases will focus on TRL >2. The evidence generated during Phase 1 should support the development of the proposal for Phase 2, with the aim of making it as easy as possible for potential collaborators to identify the innovative elements of your proposal in order to consider routes for exploitation.

It is important right from the start that DASA and end users understand how your idea will deliver longer term improvements to defence and/or security capability and how it could be integrated with other relevant capabilities (DASA Innovation Partners are available to advise). Therefore, you may wish to include some of the following information, where known, to help the assessors understand your exploitation plans:

• the intended defence and/or security users of your final product and whether you have engaged with these end-users or their procurement organisation
• the current TRL of the innovation and where you realistically think it will be by the end of Phase 1
• awareness of, and alignment to, any existing end user procurement programmes
• the anticipated benefits (for example, in cost, time or improved capability) that your solution will provide to the user
• whether it is likely to be a standalone product or integrated with other technologies or platforms
• expected additional work required beyond the end of the contract to develop an operationally deployable commercial products (for example, ‘scaling up’ for manufacture, cyber security, integration with existing technologies or environmental operating conditions)
• additional future applications and markets for exploitation
• wider collaborations and networks you have already developed or any additional relationships you see as a requirement to support exploitation
• requirements for access to Government Furnished Assets (GFA) for example data, equipment, materials and facilities (noting we cannot guarantee availability of GFA)
• how you intend to demonstrate the outputs at the end of this phase, what form the demonstration would take and whether it will require any special facilities (for example, outdoor space, specific venue)
• how your product could be tested in a representative environment in later phases
• any specific legal, commercial or regulatory considerations for exploitation

5. How to apply

Proposals for funding to meet these challenges must be submitted by midday 24 October 2018 via the DASA submission service for which you will be required to register.

The initial Phase 1 funding of £600k is expected to fund approximately 5 to 8 proposals. The cost to DASA per proposal must be in the range of £50k to £120k (although you may choose to use additional funds from elsewhere to meet the challenge). If successful, Phase 1 contracts will be awarded for a duration of 6 months.

Additional funding for further phases to increase TRL further is anticipated to be available. Any further phases will be open to applications from all suppliers and not just those that submitted Phase 1 successful bids.

Further guidance on submitting a proposal can be found here.

5.1 What your proposal must include

The proposal should focus on this proof of concept phase but should also include a brief outline of the next stages of work required for exploitation.

When submitting a proposal, you must complete all sections of the online form, including an appropriate level of technical information to allow assessment of the bid and a completed finances section. The proposal must clearly demonstrate a response to each of the DASA assessment criteria.

A project plan with clear milestones and deliverables must also be provided. Deliverables must be well defined and designed to provide evidence of progress against the project plan and the end-point for this phase.

A resourcing plan should also be provided that identifies, where possible, the nationalities of those proposed Research Workers that you intend working on this phase. In the event of proposals being recommended for funding, the DASA reserves the right to undertake due diligence checks including the clearance of proposed Research Workers. Please note that this process will take as long as necessary and could take up to 6 weeks in some cases for non-UK nationals.

You should identify any ethical/legal/regulatory factors within your proposal and how the associated risks will be managed, including break points in the project if approvals are not received, must be included. Further details are available in the DASA guidance.

In addition, requirements for access to GFA should be included in your proposal with information on how you intend to access them and any steps you have already taken to achieve this.

Completed proposals must comply with the financial range set for this Phase which is between £50k to £120k per proposal. Applications will be rejected if they do not comply with this bracket.

Proposals must include costed participation at the following two DASA events:

• a collaboration event
• a demonstration event.

Both events will be held in the UK.

5.2 Public facing information

A brief abstract will be requested if the proposal is funded. This will be used by DASA and other government departments as appropriate, to describe the project and its intended outcomes and benefits. It will be used for inclusion at DASA events in relation to this competition and placed on the DASA website, along with your company information and generic contact details.

5.3 How your proposal will be assessed

All proposals will undergo an initial sift to check compliance with the competition document. We may also undertake a pre-sift of proposals based on fit to the competition document and standard DASA assessment criteria.

Proposals will then be assessed against the standard DASA assessment criteria by subject matter experts from the MOD (including Dstl), other government departments and front-line military commands. You will not have the opportunity to comment on assessors comments.

DASA reserves the right to disclose on a confidential basis any information it receives from bidders during the procurement process (including information identified by the bidder as Commercially Sensitive Information in accordance with the provisions of this competition) to any third party engaged by DASA for the specific purpose of evaluating or assisting DASA in the evaluation of the bidder’s proposal. In providing such information the bidder consents to such disclosure. Appropriate confidentiality agreements will be put in place.

Further guidance on how your proposal is assessed is available on the DASA website.

After assessment, proposals will be discussed internally at a Decision Conference where, based on the assessments, budget and wider strategic considerations, a decision will be made on the proposals that are recommended for funding.

Proposals that are unsuccessful will receive brief feedback after the Decision Conference.

5.4 Things you should know about DASA contracts

Please read the DASA terms and conditions which contains important information for suppliers. For this competition we will be using the Short Form Contract (SFC).

Funded proposals will be allocated a Technical Partner as a technical point of contact. In addition, the DASA team will work with you to support delivery and exploitation.

Deliverables from DASA contracts will be made available to MOD, front-line commands, and may be subject to review by relevant government departments.

The full-rights outputs of funded work may be exposed to international government partners. This is to promote international collaboration and to give projects the best chance of exploitation through exposure to a larger scope of requirements. This will only be done under the protection of existing inter-governmental memoranda of understanding.

6. Phase 1 dates

Competition open	Wednesday 5 September 2018
Dial in	Tuesday 25 September 2018
Pre bookable 1-1 telecom sessions	Tuesday 25 September 2018
Competition closes	Wednesday 24 October 2018 at midday
Contracting	Aim to start contracts beginning of December 2018 and end 6 months later in June 2019

Demonstration and collaboration event dates will be communicated to successful applicants once confirmed.

6.1 Supporting events

• Tuesday 25 September (morning) – A dial-in session providing further detail on the problem space and a chance to ask questions in an open forum. If you would like to participate, please register on the Eventbrite page.

• Tuesday 25 September (afternoon) – A series of 20 minute one-to-one teleconference sessions, giving you the opportunity to ask specific questions. If you would like to participate, please register on the Eventbrite page.

7. Help

Competition queries including on process, application, technical, commercial and intellectual property aspects should be sent to accelerator@dstl.gov.uk, quoting the competition title.

While all reasonable efforts will be made to answer queries, DASA reserves the right to impose management controls if volumes of queries restrict fair access of information to all potential suppliers.