£1 million available for innovations to help the Commando Force safely get from ship to shore
- DASA has launched a new Themed Competition: Novel Amphibious Craft
- Funded by the Defence Innovation Unit
- Up to £1 million available for innovations to help develop capabilities that can deliver Commando Force Strike Teams and equipment to coastal access points, safely and rapidly
The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is pleased to launch a new Themed Competition, Novel Amphibious Craft. Run on behalf of the Defence Innovation Unit, this competition seeks innovative technologies which can feed into the development of a Novel Amphibious Craft concept to enable Commando Force to safely and rapidly insert themselves into high-threat environments. The future craft needs to:
- travel at sustained high speed over a long range
- provide the ability to deliver personnel and light vehicles to a coastal access point with limited or no impact on operational speed/capability
- relaunch from the coastal access point
- operate with low signature across all spectrums (thermal, radar, visual, acoustic, etc.) to reduce the probability of detection
Key dates and funding
£1 million (Exc. VAT) funding is available for this Themed Competition. DASA expects to fund several proposals between £100K – 350K.
The deadline to submit a proposal is midday 10 January 2023 (GMT).
New capability requirements for amphibious assault
The Commando Force needs the ability to insert troops and equipment that are fit to fight into high-threat environments safely. However, advances in coastal defences mean that an amphibious assault relying on outdated technology and concepts can be deterred, disrupted, and defeated.
A bold new approach is required to overcome these modern threats. Innovative technologies will enable the Commando Force to reach further, move faster, and strike decisively without being detected.
This competition aims to investigate and accelerate innovative solutions that will help meet operational requirements and achieve mission success, including feeding into the development of a Novel Amphibious Craft. DASA is seeking to address the following challenges:
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how to reduce the signature across multiple spectrums (thermal, radar, visual, acoustic, etc.)
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how to deliver the Commando Force (Troops and Vehicles) across the water gap and minimise the requirement for wading
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how to routinely land onto/retract from an unprepared coastal access point
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how to sustain speeds of at least 25kts in the fully loaded condition, in Sea State 2
For a more detailed breakdown of the platform specifications and requirements, read the full competition document.
Novel Amphibious Craft: Themes
This competition has two themes. Innovators can apply for funding in either theme.
Theme 1: Priority Challenges
Theme 1 aims to address the following technical challenges faced by the capability:
- Theme 1a: How to reduce the signature across multiple spectrums (thermal, radar, visual, acoustic etc.)
- Theme 1b: How to deliver the Commando Force (troops and vehicles) across the water gap and minimise the requirement for wading
- Theme 1c: How to land onto/retract from an unprepared coastal access point
Theme 2: Capability Design
Theme 2 aims to design a craft capable of delivering the complete capability defined above. This is a lower Technology Readiness Level (TRL) theme up to TRL 4.
To learn more about the themes of the competition, read the full competition document.
Webinars
This competition will feature a series of 20 minute one-to-one teleconference sessions, providing innovators the opportunity to ask competition organisers specific questions. Register below.
Submit a proposal
Do you have an innovation that will help contribute to the development of a novel amphibious craft, capable of delivering Commando Force Strike Teams and equipment to coastal access points?
Submit your idea and help enable the Commando Force to safely and rapidly insert themselves into high-threat environments.