Tender: Defence: Autonomous Vehicle-Mounted Counter-UAS Capability Focused on Laser Directed Energy Weapons

About

Defence is seeking suppliers to accelerate development of vehicle-mounted, autonomous counter-UAS capabilities to detect, track, identify, decide and defeat mass and low-cost aerial threats for deployed land forces and defence fixed infrastructure. Phase 1 will identify and support organisations to mature existing technologies toward a final deployable system rather than deliver a complete operational C-UAS; the Authority is particularly interested in Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) effectors but remains open to credible alternative novel approaches. The required capability should protect against complex and saturation attacks by representative Class 1 UAS and small aerial threats, exploit open architectures, platform-generated power and modular design, be capable of autonomous operation on an Army vehicle, and provide a scalable pathway to future uncrewed ground vehicle integration, Army and Joint GBAD capabilities and possible export. Later phases aim to rapidly mature promising technologies into demonstrable Minimum Viable Products and then Minimum Deployable Capabilities for an initial operational user group, with potential further development into a Programme of Record.