Notice

Competition Document: Countering Illegal Use of UAS Around Prisons and Sensitive Sites

Published 3 February 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/countering-illegal-use-of-uas-around-prisons-and-sensitive-sites/competition-document-countering-illegal-use-of-uas-around-prisons-and-sensitive-sites

1. Introduction

This UKDI (UKDI) competition is run on behalf of Ministry of Justice (MOJ), His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), Ministry of Defence (MOD), the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), Home Office, Police, Innovate UK and wider UK security stakeholders.

It is seeking proposals that offer innovative, low-collateral solutions to counter or defeat hostile drones targeting secure sites and locations. Drones, or “uncrewed aerial systems” (UAS), pose a growing challenge when used for contraband delivery, surveillance near prisons, sensitive sites or critical national infrastructure, including in congested urban areas.

The end-users for the solutions would include HMPPS security teams, MOD, police, law enforcement agencies, and operational staff, these groups need solutions to work alongside existing ‘last line of defence’ technology that are activated when other mitigation measures fail. This competition focuses on two competition challenge areas:

1.1 Challenge 1: Higher TRL Solutions

1.2 Challenge 2: Medium TRL Concepts for Future Capability

  • must reach TRL 4 or 5
  • maximum project length 12 months

2. Competition key information

Key Information Competition Details
Submission deadline 12:00 Midday on 31 March 2026 (BST)
Total funding available Up to £1.85m (excluding VAT). A number of proposals may be funded.
Technology readiness level(TRL) Challenge 1 must reach TRL 7 and Challenge 2 must reach TRL 4 or 5
Contract start month Aim to start mid-July 2026
Project duration Equal to or less than 12 months
Cyber Risk Assessment (CRA) number and risk level RAR-LJCLJ3E, Cyber Risk Profile – Level 1
Feedback release date 20-May-2026
Pre-sift criteria See Section 8 Pre-sift Criteria

2.1 Competition Specific Requirements    

Please note that this competition has specific deliverables as part of its pre-sift criteria. Only those proposals that demonstrate compliance with the UKDI pre-sift criteria will be taken forward to full assessment. For the full list of criteria, please see Section 8.

2.2 Where do I submit my proposal?

Via the UKDI Online Submission Service where you will need to register for an account. Only proposals submitted through the UKDI Online Submission Service will be accepted.

2.3 Public facing information  

When submitting your proposal, you will be required to include a title, Proposal Value Proposition Statement (PVPS) and a short abstract. The title, PVPS and abstract you provide will be used by UKDI, and Partners Across Government (PAG), to describe your project and its intended outcomes and benefits. They may be included at UKDI 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.

2.4 Further guidance

For further guidance on what to expect during the submission process and how your proposal will be assessed, please see the following GOV.UK pages and forms. Whilst this competition is being delivered in collaboration with Innovate UK, the assessment process will remain aligned to UKDI’s standard process and undertaken by Government officials or other end-users under and NDA.

3. Supporting activities

3.1 Launch webinar

17 February 2026 – Launch webinar 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.

3.2 Collaboration survey  

We encourage collaboration between innovators for this competition. To support this, we 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.

The information (including personal details) you provide will be circulated among the innovators who have completed the survey. The sharing of details will only be done after an initial screening process has taken place; we reserve the right to not share all details.

All collaboration for proposal submissions is on an innovator-innovator basis. It is the innovators’ responsibility to determine the suitability of collaborators.

Inclusion or absence of collaboration will not affect assessment.

3.3 Innovation Outline  

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.

Your local Innovation Partner will initially explore the suitability of your idea within the context of the requirements of the competition. We advise making this contact as early as possible in your planning.

Your local Innovation Partner may advise you to submit an Innovation Outline (IO), which is used to further explore the relevance of your idea with the competition team.  You must submit this IO through the Submission Service.

To submit an IO:

  • log in to the submission service
  • select the service category UKDI Innovation Outline
  • from the service name select Innovation Outline: Countering Illegal Use of UAS Around Prisons and Sensitive Sites
  • complete the form

Your local Innovation Partner will be able to advise you on the IO content.

Submission of an IO for this competition will allow socialisation of the idea across the competition team, all elements of the IO will be shared. The competition team is made up of UKDI, Dstl staff, MOJ, HMPPS, MOD, NDA, Home Office and Police. You should receive a response within two weeks, confirming whether or not your idea is in scope. The competition closes at 12:00 Midday on 31 March 2026 (BST). UKDI cannot guarantee a response to an IO received after 17 March 2026.

4. Competition scope

4.1 Background

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.

4.2 Scope

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

4.3 Exploitation

A clear route for exploitation

For UKDI to best support your consideration of potential exploitation routes, you should ensure your proposal deliverables are designed and presented with the aim of making it as easy as possible for the assessors and competition team to identify the innovative elements of your proposal.

Whilst UKDI 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 there should be no correspondence between suppliers and UKDI or between suppliers and the MOJ other than via the UKDI helpdesk email at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk, or your local Innovation Partner.

All proposals to UKDI 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.

How to outline your exploitation plan

Include the following information to help the assessors understand your exploitation plans to date:

  • the intended end-users 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
  • 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 solution (for example, “scaling up” for manufacture, enhancing cyber security, integration with existing technologies, enhancements to address robust environmental operating conditions)
  • consideration of 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 developed innovation could be tested in a representative environment  in later phases    
  • any specific legal, ethical, commercial or regulatory considerations for exploitation

Is your exploitation plan long term?

Longer term research activity 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. 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.

5. Competition challenges

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

5.1 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.

5.2 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.

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.

5.3 We are interested in…

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)

5.4 We 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

6. Critical elements to include

When writing your proposal, ensure you have comprehensively covered the following elements:

  • focused on the competition requirements but also included a brief (un-costed) outline of the next stages of work required for exploitation
  • included a list of other government funding you have received in this area. Making it clear how this proposal differs from that work
  • included a detailed project plan with clear milestones and deliverables. Deliverables need to be well defined and designed to provide evidence of progress against the project plan. Your deliverables must include a technical demonstration (Challenge Area 1) and written final report . A draft report can be provided before the technical demonstration.

  • for Challenge Area 1, please include a minimum of £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 suitable location that will be determined by the authority and plans agreed

  • a kick-off meeting at the start of proposed innovation project

  • an end of project demonstration (Challenge Area 1) at the end of Phase 1

  • regular reviews with the appointed Technical Partner, Exploitation Manager and Project Manager

  • close down meeting at the end of the project   

These activities may take place virtually. Slides presented at these meetings should be appropriately marked and made available

  • identified any ethical / legal / regulatory factors. Associated risks should have been added to the Risk Register in Step 5 of the submission service along with details of how they will be managed, including break points in the project if approvals are not received
  • you must have included any requirements for access to Government Furnished X (GFX).  you must have included any requirements for access to Government Furnished X (GFX). GFX is the preferred nondescript term for anything that the Government provides in which the ‘X’ could be artefacts such as information or equipment. UKDI cannot guarantee that GFX will be made available. You should have included an alternative plan in your proposal in case it is not available.

7. Exploitation beyond your project plan

Include the following information within the Desirability question within the UKDI Online Submission Service application form to help the assessors understand your exploitation intentions:

  • 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 tested in a representative environment in later phases
  • any specific legal, ethical, commercial or regulatory considerations for exploitation

Following the conclusion of the competition, HMG and its security partners may consider additional opportunities for funding and/or supporting further operational trials of the most promising solutions. There is the possibility of a phase 2 of this competition.

8. Pre-sift Criteria

Before your proposal is assessed, all proposals will be checked for compliance with the UKDI pre-sift criteria. Proposals will be rejected before full assessment if they do not comply.

For more information on how your proposal will be assessed please read Assessment process and criteria.

The Countering Illegal Use of UAS Around Prisons and Sensitive Sites pre-sift criteria is as follows:

Criteria Measure - Within scope (Pass) / Out of scope (Fail)
The proposal outlines how it meets the scope of the competition Pass / Fail
The proposal explains how it meets the UKDI criteria (Desirability, Feasibility, and Viability) in the relevant questions in Step 3 of the submission service Pass / Fail
The proposal must contain a financial plan, a project plan and a resourcing plan which demonstrate how the work proposed will be completed Pass / Fail
For Challenge 1, proposals should ringfence a minimum of £5000 for travel and subsistence (e.g. accommodation) to attend the demonstration site. Pass / Fail
The delivery schedule within your proposal includes evidence of a written final report Pass / Fail
Maximum value of proposal cannot exceed £1.85m (excluding VAT), we expect to fund at least 2 - 6 proposals across the two challenge areas Pass / Fail
The final deliverable month indicated must be less than or equal to 12 months from T0 where T0 is the project start date agreed by both parties Pass / Fail
TRL requirement: Challenge 1 = TRL7 at end, Challenge 2 = TRL 4 or TRL5 at end. Pass / Fail
The proposal does not contain attachments that have been used for additional text data over the stated word counts in Desirability, Feasibility, Viability and Additional Information Pass / Fail
A resubmission of a previous proposal adheres to the resubmission guidelines Pass / Fail

9. How your proposal will be assessed

Proposals that are compliant will be assessed against the standard UKDI assessment criteria (Desirability, Feasibility and Viability) by subject matter experts from the MOD (including Dstl), PAG and the front-line military commands. You will not have the opportunity to view or comment on assessors’ recommendations.

UKDI 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 UKDI for the specific purpose of evaluating or assisting UKDI in the evaluation of your proposal. In providing such information you consent to such disclosure. Appropriate confidentiality agreements will be put in place.

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

Innovators are not permitted to attend the Decision Conference.

10. UKDI Terms and Conditions

Please read the UKDI Terms and Conditions which contain important information for innovators. For this competition we will be using the Innovation Standard Contract (ISC), Terms and Conditions. Information on the relevant DEFCONs can be found by registering on the Knowledge in Defence site.

We require unqualified acceptance of the Terms and Conditions. Where innovator organisations have a commercial department they will need to provide acceptance.

We will use deliverables from UKDI contracts in accordance with our rights detailed in the contract Terms and Conditions. This includes sharing deliverables with the Five Eyes, NATO and EU partners under the appropriate Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU). In addition, a copy of all deliverables (including the final report) shall be shared with Innovate UK and NDA, in confidence, for information purposes. Innovate UK and NDA are co-funding this competition.

10.1 Feedback

Proposals that are unsuccessful will receive feedback in the form of bullet points and a couple of short paragraphs after the Decision Conference.

Where a proposal meets the fundable requirements for a competition, but is not funded, UKDI 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 UKDI, in accordance with the competition document. We may also share this information on our cross-government Ideas Marketplace platform to foster collaboration and attempt to elicit funding. If partners across His Majesty’s Government wish to read the full proposal to decide if they will fund it, we will share the full proposal with them without seeking your permission if it is within 60 days of the feedback release date. If it is over 60 days since the feedback release date we will seek your permission before sharing the full proposal with them.

Funded projects will be allocated a Project Manager (to monitor the project), a Technical Partner (as a technical point of contact) and a Security Exploitation Manager to support you maximise end user impact of your project, this includes introductions to end-users and business support to help develop their business. This may include working with policing and Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) stakeholders including, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, where proposals also meet their specific needs in addition to collaboration with Innovate UK to support access to introductions and opportunities via the Innovate UK Business Connect.

11.1 Cyber Security Model

The Cyber Security Model (CSM) is how Defence builds cyber security into its supply chain.

On receipt of a FUND decision, successful innovators (and their sub-contractors) must prove cyber resilience before the contract is awarded. The start of this process is the submission of a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ). The SAQ allows innovators 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 innovators we ask all innovators to complete the SAQ before they submit their proposal (this is not mandated). The SAQ must be completed using the UKDI Risk Assessment number RAR-LJCLJ3E. 

The SAQ will be automatically scored against the Cyber Risk Profile (CRP) and you will be immediately informed of the outcome, compliant or not compliant

If non-compliant, you will be required to complete a Cyber Improvement Plan (CIP) before the contract is placed which will need to be reviewed and agreed with the relevant project manager. The CIP template can be found here.

Before you start your SAQ you will need:

11.2 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 you can obtain the necessary licences as part of your proposal, you will be required to provide this information prior to contract award, should your proposal be selected for funding.

12. Points of Contact

During the competition phase all correspondence must be via the UKDI Points of Contact detailed below.

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

12.1 Please see section “3.3 Innovation Outline” for contact details of your Innovation Partner

12.2 UKDI Help Centre

Competition queries including on process, application, commercial, technical and intellectual property aspects should be sent to the UKDI Help Centre at accelerator@dstl.gov.uk, quoting the competition title. UKDI cannot guarantee a response to a query after the 10 March 2026, 3 weeks before the competitions closes.

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