TF RAID Avengers: Live AI Drone Swarm Competition Now Open
The Rapid AI Delivery Taskforce has launched a competition giving British companies access to Ukraine's Avengers Labs battlefield data platform to develop AI models for autonomous drone swarming and collaborative drone operations. This is a direct, funded route into one of the most active areas of current MOD interest, with real operational data behind it rather than synthetic test environments. If you work in autonomous systems, AI, or UAS, this is the most concrete near-term opportunity in the signal pool. The competition is live and has specific submission requirements.
Source →UKDI Project PANOPTES: Counter-UAS Funding Competition Open
UKDI has launched Project PANOPTES, a competition seeking capabilities to defeat mass and low-cost threats in a cost-effective manner, framed around force protection and enabling manoeuvre. The counter-UAS market has been moving fast and this signals MOD is willing to fund development-to-deployment cycles, not just early research. The signal is thin on specifics such as funding levels and submission deadlines, so the full competition guidance should be checked directly.
Source →PICASSO GEOINT Programme: Client-Side Technical Support Tender
Defence's Category A PICASSO programme, which covers approximately 70 geospatial intelligence systems and services used for planning, navigation and targeting, is seeking a supplier to provide technical client-side support for design and implementation work. This is a live Contracts Finder notice and sits squarely in C4ISR and GEOINT territory. SMEs with software integration, systems architecture, or geospatial data expertise should look at the full notice for scope and qualification requirements.
Source →MOD Trade and Industry Statistics 2026 Due for Publication
MOD has announced the forthcoming release of its accredited official statistics on spending with industry and commerce for 2026. When published, this will show where MOD money actually went by sector, supplier tier, and contract type, which is the most reliable public data for benchmarking your own market position and identifying where spend is growing or contracting. Worth monitoring the GOV.UK statistics page for the release date.
Source →UKDI Counter-UAS Fast-Funding Round: Development to Deployment Focus
A separate UKDI signal confirms a fast-paced funding round specifically for counter-uncrewed aerial system capabilities, described as seeking development to deployment rather than early-stage research alone. This complements Project PANOPTES and suggests a broader UKDI push in the counter-UAS area, with two distinct competition entry points now visible. SMEs with mature or near-mature counter-UAS technology, rather than those still at concept stage, appear to be the intended audience.
Source →MOD is running multiple live, funded competitions in autonomous systems and counter-UAS simultaneously, with real operational data and a clear development-to-deployment intent, making this the most active window for UAS and AI-adjacent SMEs in recent months.