Funding available for novel defence autonomy and robotics innovations
- Jul 31
- 2 min read
UK Defence Innovation has launched a new competition seeking early-stage science and technology ideas that could support future advances in defence robotics and autonomous systems.
The Novel Autonomy and Robotics competition is being run on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s Autonomy Programme Incubator project.
It is seeking novel and potentially disruptive ideas that could be developed to support the military use of autonomous systems across land, sea and air environments. This could include completely new scientific approaches, as well as technologies already used in other sectors but not yet applied within defence.
Proposals should focus on low Technology Readiness Level research, starting at TRL 1 or 2 and progressing by at least one TRL during the project. Ideas may be speculative, uncertain or high risk, but must be supported by a credible scientific basis.
The competition will use a two-stage submission process. Applicants will initially submit a short Stage 1 proposal, with successful candidates invited to develop a full Stage 2 submission.
A total of £600,000, excluding VAT, is available for Project Phase 1, with individual proposals worth up to £60,000. A further £600,000 is expected to be available for Project Phase 2.
Projects are expected to last no longer than three months, with contracts currently expected to begin in November 2026.
The deadline for Stage 1 proposals is 12pm on 11 August 2026. Applicants invited to Stage 2 will have until 12pm on 15 September 2026 to submit their full proposal.
Businesses, researchers and innovators developing early-stage technologies with potential applications in defence autonomy and robotics can review the full competition guidance and submit a proposal through the UK Defence Innovation Online Submission Service.
