UK defence innovation launches electro-optic sensing competition with £2.8 million fund

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UK defence electro-optic fund

Highlights

UK Defence Innovation launched a £2.8 million competition seeking electro-optic sensing technologies to enhance military operations in contested environments.
The two-stage competition covers nine technology challenges, including 3D LiDAR, machine learning for hyperspectral imaging, and low SWaP-C tactical sensors.
Stage 1 submissions by UK-based applicants close 9 December 2026, with selected proposals advancing in early 2027 for potential UK defence market impact.

Competition structure and technology focus

As reported by GOV.UK, UK Defence Innovation, acting on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, has launched a themed competition for electro-optic sensing technologies under the Electro Optic Sensing project. The initiative is intended to find systems that help military forces operate more effectively in contested and degraded environments.

The competition covers nine challenge areas, including infrared active imaging, battlefield detection and characterisation of laser sources, countering electromagnetic jamming, day and night wide-area sensing in difficult conditions, detection and identification of dim and distant targets, underwater environmental sensing, imaging through turbid media, automatic target recognition for 3D LiDAR data, machine learning for hyperspectral imaging, low SWaP-C hyperspectral sensors for tactical platforms, and high-resolution imaging through aperture synthesis.

UK Defence Innovation is using a two-stage process. Innovators first submit an outline concept in Stage 1, and only invited applicants move to a full proposal in Stage 2, a format designed to let participants test alignment with defence requirements before committing to a more detailed bid.

UK eligibility and defence market impact

The competition is open to UK-registered businesses, sole traders and UK academic institutions, and projects are expected to be delivered in the UK. Stage 1 submissions close at 12 noon GMT on 9 December 2026, with successful applicants due to move to the next phase in early 2027.

Electro-optic sensors are central to functions such as threat warning, target detection, discrimination and identification, making the programme relevant to suppliers working across defence electronics, sensing systems and advanced imaging. For UK developers, the funding round creates a route to back technologies that extend sensing range, improve target recognition, work through environmental obscurants and strengthen situational awareness for defence users.

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