Guidance

Competition Document: Contemporary Deception for the British Army

Published 23 May 2024

1. Introduction:

This Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition is run on behalf of the British Army. Project APATE - the Greek goddess or spirit of deceit, deception, guile, and fraud - seeks industry and academia to identify and develop new (novel) deception technologies that could be exploited by the British Army to gain operational advantage and to aid the survivability of deployed UK Land Forces.

“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”  Sun tzu – The Art of War.

The aim of Project APATE is to identify and develop novel deception (defined as a Feint; Demonstration, Ruse or Display), technologies that could be exploited to ‘hide the real’ or ‘show the false’ on Land operations, including the near-surface (0-10,000ft) and command and logistic hubs. The development of a deception capability for military application will enhance Survivability in a number of potential applications: 

1. Novel decoys of personnel, military activities, in-service platforms, systems and hubs  that can deceive non-communications sensors and adversarial radar, including battlefield radars, at various ranges; and/or

2. Developing novel technologies, or exploiting existing technologies in new/novel ways, to enhance survivability by reducing the likelihood of being There, Detected, Acquired and Engaged, in support of the survivability onion concept.

1. By the proposal of new concepts for implementing battlefield deception that are a blend of deception technologies but tactically exploited through new thinking and the potential update to the Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) of employing deception. How can the Army use deception in novel ways, by challenging the unconventional? To deceive in plain sight, to exploit the unexpected and gain the tactical advantage, if only momentarily.

We encourage proposals where the innovation output is no higher than, Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 5. Successful proposals will be expected to validate their deception technology in a relevant environment. This could include validation against a range of representative sensor technologies in a formal tactical trials environment. An appropriate level of evidence will be required for solutions expected to exit at TRL 3 or 4.

Any correspondence directly relating to this competition between the innovator and the Army competition team should only be done through the DASA helpdesk email at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk, or your local Innovation Partner.

2. Competition key information

2.1 Submission deadline

12:00 midday on 09 July 2024 (BST).

2.2 Where do I submit my proposal?

Via the [DASA Online Submission Service] for which you will require an account. Only proposals submitted through the DASA Online Submission Service will be accepted.

2.3 Total funding available

The total possible funding available for this DASA competition is £900,000 (excluding VAT).

This is expected to fund between six and eight proposals over a maximum project duration of 5 months. Pending each proposal additional funding may be made available from Defence Science and Technology Laboratories (Dstl).

There may be additional funding for further phases to incorporate successful solutions onto prototypes under development (using a different commercial arrangement through Defence Equipment and Support’s Aurora Engineering Partnership).

3. Supporting events

Dial-in session

07 June 2024 – A dial-in session providing further detail on the problem space from the Army’s competition team, with a chance to ask questions in an open forum. If you would like to participate, please register on the Eventbrite page.

We invite Expressions of Interest (by 17 Jun 2024) where there are sensitive questions that you would prefer to pose either about the competition or the scope of your proposal. DASA has a team of Innovation Partners that can provide you with support in working with DASA.  If you want to submit an expression of interest (by 17 June 2024) we encourage you to speak to your local DASA Innovation Partner.

4. Competition Scope

4.1 Background: Why are we interested in deception?

Throughout history, effective deception has provided advantage to commanders; the complexity of 21st Century Land operations presents a need to constantly adapt to an evolving operating environment through the employment of TTPs with technology. In today’s multi-domain and data-enabled battlespace, one in which computer-aided multi-spectral sensing offers near-instantaneous targeting for accurate fires, the ability to surprise or instil ‘doubt and cost’, as well as to ‘buy time and opportunity’ has never been more critical.

The prospect of War in Europe has returned. The art of deception has eroded over time. Today’s Army has largely learnt from two decades of limited campaigning in the Middle East and there is need to focus on the European theatre, more capable adversaries and the added emphasis of Urban operations.

The Land Operating Concept describes five ways in which the Army will fight and operate differently. Included is the need to adopt a new approach to survival, prioritising protection. As Ukraine has devastatingly shown, the danger of being observed by drone style technologies  or electronic surveillance, to then be prosecuted by long range missiles, artillery and armed UAS, will require Land Forces to actively deceive Red forces by dispersal and ingenious concealment.  Adapting TTPs to force the adversary to make tactical errors, whilst remaining illusive and unconstrained, maintaining tactical freedom of action.  

Deception aims to distract an adversary, influence their speed of decision making; importantly, deception measures may also attract missiles and other assets away from primary targets, which preserves our combat power and soldiers’ lives, as well as attritting adversarial stockpiles by expending them on the wrong targets.  The ability to dupe the enemy into making tactical errors, losing the initiative, exposing high value targets will combine to degrade their combat efficiency and fighting power, allowing the First Mover Advantage to be exploited, whilst protecting our own combat efficiency.

Ukraine’s defence of its homeland has demonstrated the impact of locally mass-manufactured, low fidelity decoys, which are creatively employed in tactical situations as a complementary approach to hi-fidelity, and costly detailed representations of key equipment and facilities (usually high-value targets).

The development of new and novel deception technologies for UK Land Forces is a key challenge area that the British Army is actively seeking to solve. It has established a Deception Capability Board to do so. The practice of deception remains engrained in doctrine, the driving need is to identify and exploit technological solutions that can deceive tactical intelligence collection assets and munitions that are also able to track their targets.

We encourage novel techniques and technologies that help deployed UK Land Forces operating in continental Europe, capable of adapting to seasonal variation to:

• ‘hide the real’ by Masking (making a real thing look invisible), Repackaging (making a real thing look different) and/or Dazzling (confusing the appearance of a real thing), and

• ‘show the false’ by Mimic/Spoofing (a false thing that looks like a real thing), Inventing (creating a new, false thing) and Decoys (distract attention by showing a false thing).

Whether delivered remotely or by soldiers, operating as an autonomous deception network or alongside real capability, successful solutions will require little or no training, be capable of rapid ‘into effect’ and recovery, and have a minimal logistic burden (storage, and resilient power if required). 

This DASA competition seeks to fund Research and Development of hardware, software and system innovations which could underpin a future deception capability for UK Defence personnel and materiel.

4.2 Scope: The operating environment

The Army is required to operate and win in complex and diverse battlefield environmental conditions, globally. This competition restricts the physical environment to continental Europe, in all seasons. Proposals are invited to consider the individually unique challenges of credible novel deception technologies in the urban sprawl of western and Eastern Europe, its rural plains, its dense forestation, the harsh winters of Scandinavia to the arid landscape of the Mediterranean.  The ability to transition between landscapes rapidly or seamlessly is especially desirable.

Proposals are asked to consider adversarial doctrine, tactics, capabilities, experiences and decision making. Focus on their collection sensors across the electromagnetic spectrum, with emphasis on those most often employed by tactical ground forces at close range, including the most recent proliferation of near-surface uncrewed system-mounted sensing and one-way effectors.

The British Army is agile. It will often disperse and then reassemble at a chosen location and time to win the first battle. Deception capabilities need to support the way in which the British Army will fight. Realism and tempo will be key elements.  The requirement is for low fidelity, high volume deception technologies at low cost to mirror the major elements of the Army; balanced with low volume, high fidelity representations of high value targets and capabilities, including air defence, bridging, command nodes and logistics hubs. 

Convincing deception technologies will likely be destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair, and some may be captured by the adversary. Proposals may inform how easily the replacement of the technology can be achieved, at pace and ideally within the operational Theatre by using the local manufacturing industry. Loss to the adversary, should not equate to a loss of advantage. Proposals should offer low complexity technology, ideally dual use, and whose employment does not create a high demand for security, protection, or denial.

Deception seeks to instil doubt for two principal purposes, to reduce the tempo of the adversary’s decision making and to reduce its combat power by the ill-commitment of effectors, enablers and forces. Tactical actions must complement, they should be layered and integrated with operational plans and overall strategy; in isolation they are rarely convincing. Equally, if employed poorly, the overall strategy may soon be unmasked. Accessible and affordable decoys that are deployed and employed by tactical forces will need to meet the increasingly technological sophistication of warfare.

Human close reconnaissance and, increasingly, sensors that use artificial intelligence and machine learning employ proven techniques to Identify, Acquire and Engage potential targets. Deception technologies need to emulate their real-world equivalent; proposals should consider the established military discipline of camouflage and concealment:

• Shape: Few things in nature are regularly shaped
• Silhouette: Notably the sky, but similar plain backgrounds in the urban or rural world
• Shadow: The recognisable shape of a cast shadow may reveal the location
• Shine: The reflection of sunlight on shiny objects
• Spacing: Natural objects are never regularly spaced
• Signature: All military objects emit a thermal signature
• Speed: Sudden or unnatural movement attracts the eye
• Spoil: It is impossible not to leave a track/trail
• Smell:  Equipment and people emissions provide further confirmation of location
• Sound: Noise attracts acoustic sensors, and travel further at night

5. Competition Challenges

5.1 Challenge 1: Show the False

We are seeking novel representations of personnel, military activities, in-service platforms, systems and hubs that are ideally remotely or autonomously delivered (ideally recoverable and deniable) and which deceive visual, electro-optic/infra-red (short, medium and long-wave) and acoustic sensors at a range of 500m by day or 200m at night, using EOIR sensors in average conditions, including from aerial platforms. We do not seek RF deception ideas, less to counter adversarial radar, including battlefield radars. 

This challenge is looking for novel ways to ‘show the false’.  Ideas that might help solve this challenge area may include representations of generalist and specialist Land capabilities. 

Successful proposals will demonstrate how the innovative use of technology can be incorporated into the modern battlefield, with the minimum logistic burden, relative ease of deployment, recovery and maintenance, to become a tactical asset.  Mobile, self-propelled decoys that are remotely or autonomously or semi-autonomously controlled and which can act as a centralised control system for a ‘decoy swarm’, such as a squadron of drones or a leaguered logistic convoy are of particular interest.  In addition, the use of deception to mask one platform type as another may give a tactical advantage, if this suits the tactical situation, similar to a Trojan Horse. Lastly, the combined use of smaller platforms to create the signature of a high value target, such as multiple drones presenting the radar cross-section of an attack helicopter will be considered.

5.2 Challenge 2: Hide the Real

Developing new or novel technologies or exploiting existing technologies in a new or novel way to enhance the survivability of personnel and materiel by reducing the likelihood of being Identified, Acquired and Engaged in support of the survivability onion concept. This competition does not seek ideas to reduce the likelihood of being Hit, Penetrated or Killed.

This challenge is looking for novel ways to ‘hide the real’. For this competition we are interested in visual, infrared, acoustic and radar bands. Ideas that might help solve this challenge include ones that obscure the ability to find static and moving platforms and systems, and command and logistics hubs, ideally in more than one area of the electromagnetic spectrum. Consideration must be given to avoid any detrimental effect on the operational performance of the platform, the system, or the hub – it must remain optimised for full functionality.  However, a solution may be an integrated system of systems approach, which involves differing methodologies to produce a combined effect.

Proposals should consider how they would quantify the benefit of their proposed innovation compared to a single sensor.

5.3 We are interested in…

We want novel proposals that will benefit UK Land operations. We are most interested in proposals that:

• are innovative, disruptive (even unorthodox), novel, or creative in approach.
• can deceive in more than one part of the electro-magnetic spectrum.
• offer remote or autonomous deployment and recovery, or are quick to assemble (<30 mins), with a workforce ideally of no more than two, depending on the complexity of the deception method / tool.
• are at (TRL) 5 or below, especially proposals that can be further accelerated to become a prototype deception capability (essentially operational capability demonstrators).
• are low-cost (if scaled to mass-production) and do not significantly depend upon the stock of Government Furnished Assets (GFA) parts.
• are low complexity (recognising the risk of them being lost to an adversary).
• have the ability to assure a supply chain, with opportunity for forward manufacture low-fidelity, simple designs and in the UK for those more complex or sensitive solutions.
• are a theoretical development, method of advancement or proof of concept research, which can demonstrate potential for translation to practical demonstration at a later opportunity.

5.4 We are not interested in…

We are not interested in proposals that:

• are already at TRL 6 or higher.
• require MODREC or RIPA approvals.
• specifically address deception in the communications radio frequency part of the electro-magnetic spectrum.
• are inflatable representations or those needing significant power support and repair cost.
• are not broadly representative of contemporary UK personnel or materiel or are not supportive of interoperating with such.
• are labour and logistically intensive - there should be minimal operator, training, or logistical burden.
• are effective, but need highly technical operators;
• are expensive to procure and/or maintain their availability or cannot be scaled.
• show no awareness of the contemporary military operating environment.
• come from suppliers who will not be prepared to develop and integrate their solution cooperatively with users and other small and medium enterprises.
• constitute consultancy, paper-based studies or literature reviews which just summarise the existing literature without any view of future innovation (which therefore cannot be extended into future development) are an unsolicited resubmission of a previous DASA bid or proven technical proposal reapplied to this competition.
• 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 capabilities.
• offer no real prospect of out-competing existing technological solutions, including adversarial tactical sensors.

6. Accelerating and exploiting your innovation

It is important that over the lifetime of DASA competitions, ideas are matured and accelerated towards appropriate end-users to enhance capability. How long this takes will depend on the nature and starting point of the innovation.

6.1 A clear route for exploitation

Given the importance the British Army places on deception, accelerated exploitation pathways may exist for proposals which offset current capability shortfalls, through further experimentation or through a formal capability investment.

For DASA to consider routes for exploitation, ensure your deliverables are designed with the aim of making it as easy as possible for collaborators/stakeholders to identify the innovative elements of your proposal.

Whilst DASA recognises that early identification and engagement with potential end users during the competition and subsequent phases are essential to implementing an exploitation plan, during the competition phase all correspondence must be via the DASA helpdesk (accelerator@dstl.gov.uk), or your local Innovation Partner.

All proposals to DASA should articulate the expected development in technology maturity of the potential solution over the lifetime of the contract and how this relates to improved capability against the current known (or presumed) baseline.

6.2 How to outline your exploitation plan

A higher technology maturity is expected in subsequent phases. Include the following information to help the assessors understand your exploitation plans to date:

• the intended Defence user(s) of your final product and whether you have previously engaged with them, their procurement arm or their research and development arm.
• awareness of, and alignment to, any existing end user procurement programmes.
• Beyond enhanced operational survivability, the anticipated benefits (for example, in cost, time, 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 product (for example, “scaling up” for manufacture, cyber security, integration with existing technologies, environmental operating conditions).
• additional future applications and wider markets for exploitation.
• wider collaborations and networks you have already developed or any additional relationships you see as a requirement to support exploitation.
• how your product could be assessed/validated in a representative environment in later phases.
• any specific legal, ethical, commercial or regulatory considerations for exploitation.

6.3 Is your exploitation plan long term?

Long term studies may not be able to articulate exploitation in great detail, but it should be clear that there is credible advantage to be gained from the technology development.

Include project specific information which will help exploitation. This competition is being carried out as part of a wider MOD programme and with cognisance of cross-Government initiatives. We may collaborate with organisations outside of the UK Government and this may provide the opportunity to carry out international trials and demonstrations in the future.

7. How to apply

7.1 Submission deadline

12:00 Midday on 09 July 2024 (BST)

7.2 Where do I submit my proposal?

Via the DASA Online Submission Service for which you will be required to register.

Only proposals submitted through the DASA Online Submission Service will be accepted.

7.3 For further guidance

Click here for more information on our competition process and how your proposal is assessed. Queries should be sent to the DASA Help Centre –accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.

8. What your proposal must include

• the proposal should focus on the competition challenge requirements but must also include a brief (uncosted) 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.
• a list of other current or recent government funding you may have received in this area if appropriate, making it clear how this proposal differs from this work.
• a project plan with clear milestones and deliverables must be provided. Deliverables must be well defined, costed and designed to provide evidence of progress against the project plan and the endpoint for this phase; they must include a final report with recommendations for exploitation and a one-sided illustrated summary of the solution and its exploitation potential for internal to Defence publicity. Successful proposals will be invited to promote their work at the annual Army Innovation Showcase.
• you should also plan for attendance at a kick-off meeting at the start of contract, a mid-project event and an end of project event at the end of contract, as well as regular reviews with the appointed Technical Partner and Project Manager; all meetings will be in the UK. Meetings may also take place virtually. Any slides presented at these meetings need to be made available
• must demonstrate how you will complete all activities/services and provide all deliverables within the competition timescales (projects to complete by 14 February 2025 with a validation exercise to take place before 31 March 2025). Proposals with any deliverables (including final report) outside the competition timeline will be rejected as non-compliant.

9. What your resourcing plan should include

Your resourcing plan must identify, where possible, the nationalities of proposed employees that you intend to work on this phase.

9.1 If your proposal is recommended for funding

In the event of a proposal being recommended for funding, the DASA reserves the right to undertake due diligence checks including the clearance of proposed employees. 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.

The length of this competition prohibits the acceptance of any proposal that will require MOD Research Ethics Committee (MODREC) approval. Further, proposals ought not to require any approvals under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).

Requirements for access to Government Furnished Assets (GFA), for example, information, equipment, materiel, and facilities, may be included in your proposal. DASA cannot guarantee that GFA will be available. If you apply for GFA, you should include an alternative plan in case it is not available.

Failure to provide any of the above listed will automatically render your proposal non-compliant.

10. Export control for overseas partners

All relevant export control regulations will apply if a company ultimately wants to sell a developed solution to a foreign entity. All innovators must ensure that they can obtain, if required, the necessary export licences for their proposals and developments, such that they can be supplied to the UK and other countries. If you cannot confirm that you can gain the requisite licences, your proposal will be sifted out of the competition. The timeline for licencing and transport to UK must accommodate the planned validation/assessment event.

Additionally, if we believe that you will not be able to obtain export clearance, additional checks may be conducted, which may also result in your proposal being sifted out of the competition.

11. Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ)

On receipt of a ‘Fund’ decision, successful suppliers must prove cyber resilience data before the contract is awarded. The start of this process is the submission of a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ). The SAQ allows suppliers to demonstrate compliance with the specified risk level and the corresponding profile in Def Stan 05-138, and the level of control required will depend on this risk level.

To expedite the contracting time of successful suppliers we ask all suppliers to complete the SAQ before they submit their proposal. The SAQ can be completed here using the DASA Risk Assessment RAR-240521B07 and answer questions for risk level “Very Low”.

11.1 Defence Cyber Protection Partnership

The Defence Cyber Protection Partnership (DCPP) will review your SAQ submission and respond with a reference number within 2 working days. The resulting email response from DCPP should be attached (JPG or PNG format) and included within the DASA submission service portal when the proposal is submitted. You will also be asked to enter your SAQ reference number. Please allow enough time to receive the SAQ reference number prior to competition close at midday on 09 July 2023 (BST).

If the proposal is being funded, the SAQ will be evaluated against the Cyber Risk Assessment (CRA) for the competition, and it will be put it into one of the following categories:

• compliant – no further action

• not compliant – if successful in competition and being funded, the innovator will be required to complete a Cyber Implementation Plan (CIP) before the contract is placed, which will need to be reviewed and agreed with the relevant project manager.

Innovators can enter a proposal without all controls in place but are expected to have all the cyber protection measures necessary to fulfil the requirements of the contract in place at the time of contract award or have an agreed CIP.

The CIP provides evidence as to how and when potential innovators will achieve compliance. Provided the measures proposed in the Cyber Implementation Plan do not pose an unacceptable risk to the MOD, a submission with a Cyber Implementation Plan will be considered alongside those who can achieve the controls. A final check will be made to ensure cyber resilience before the contract is placed. Commercial staff cannot progress without it. This process does not replace any contract specific security requirements.

Further guidance for completing this process can be requested by emailing the DASA Help Centre: accelerator@dstl.gov.uk.

Additional information about cyber security can be found at: DCPP: Cyber Security Model industry buyer and supplier guide.

12. Public facing information

When submitting your proposal, you will be required to include a title and a short abstract. The title and abstract you provide will be used by DASA, and other government departments, to describe your project and its intended outcomes and benefits. They may be included at DASA events in relation to this competition and in documentation such as brochures. As this information can be shared, it should not contain information that may compromise intellectual property.

13. How your proposal will be assessed

At Stage 1, all proposals will be checked for compliance with the competition document and may be rejected before full assessment if they do not comply. Only those proposals that demonstrate compliance against the competition scope and DASA mandatory criteria will be taken forward to full assessment.

Mandatory Criteria
The proposal fully explains in all three sections of the DASA submission service how it meets the DASA criteria	Within scope (Pass) / Out of scope (Fail)
The proposal indicated which of the Challenge Areas will be its primary focus	Pass / Fail
The proposal clearly details a financial plan, a project plan and a resourcing plan to complete the work proposed.	Pass / Fail
The proposal confirms MODREC and RIPA approvals are not required	Pass / Fail
The proposal identifies any GFA required	Pass / Fail
The proposal demonstrates how all research and development activities / services (including delivery of the final report) will be completed by 14 February 2025 (with a validation exercise to take place by 31 March 2025) or before	Pass / Fail
The proposals output will be between TRL 3-5	Pass / Fail
The bidder has obtained the authority to provide unqualified acceptance of the terms and conditions of the Contract.	Pass / Fail

Proposals that pass Stage 1 will then be assessed against the standard (Desirability, Feasibility and Viability) by subject matter experts from the MOD (including Dstl). You will not have the opportunity to view or comment on assessors’ recommendations. DASA reserves the right to disclose on a confidential basis any information it receives from innovators during the procurement process, which includes the full proposal, to any third party engaged by DASA for the specific purpose of evaluating or assisting DASA in the evaluation of your proposal. In providing such information you consent 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.

Innovators are not permitted to attend the Decision Conference.

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

14. Things you should know about DASA contracts: DASA terms and conditions

Please read the DASA terms and conditions which contain important information for innovators. For this competition we will be using the Innovation Standard Contract (ISC), Terms and Conditions. We will require unqualified acceptance of the terms and conditions; if applicable, please ensure your commercial department has provided their acceptance.

More information on DEFCON 705 can be found by registering on the Knowledge in Defence site.

Funded projects will be allocated a Project Manager (to run the project) and a Technical Partner (as a technical point of contact). In addition, the DASA team will work with you to support delivery and exploitation including, when appropriate, introductions to end-users and business support to help develop their business.

We will use deliverables from DASA contracts in accordance with our rights detailed in the contract terms and conditions.

For this competition, £900,000 (excluding VAT) is currently available to fund proposals. Where a proposal meets the fundable requirements for a competition, but is not funded, DASA will continue to seek funding from partners across government and shall consider your proposal fundable for 12 months from the date of the decision release. We will share the abstract, PVPS and title of your proposal with any other UK government departments that may express an interest in funding the proposal through DASA, in accordance with the competition document. If a budget holder within the MOD wishes to read the full proposal to decide if they will fund it, we will share it with them under these circumstances. If it is within 60 days of the original NOT FUNDED decision release date, we will share the full proposal with them without seeking your permission. If it is over 60 days since the original NOT FUNDED decision we will seek your permission before sharing the full proposal with them.

For other potential funders, we will seek your permission before sharing the full proposal regardless of the number of days since the original NOT FUNDED decision release.

In the event that funding becomes available, DASA may ask whether you would still be prepared to undertake the work outlined in your proposal under the same terms. Your official DASA feedback will indicate if your proposal was deemed fundable, but not awarded funding at the time.

Key dates
Q&A Launch and Webinar	10:00 (BST) Friday 07 June 2024
Expressions of Interest	by 17 June 2024
Competition closes	12:00 (midday) 09 July 2024
Feedback release	early August 2024
Contracting	Start mid-September 2024; all development to complete by 14 February 2025, with a further validation exercise to be held no later than 31 March 2025

15. Help: Contact the DASA Help Centre

Competition queries including on process, application, commercial, technical and intellectual property aspects should be sent to the DASA Help Centre at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk, quoting the competition title. If you wish receive future updates on this competition, please email the DASA Help Centre.

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 innovators.