Funding boost for UK-based industry and academia to accelerate innovation
The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) has awarded 13 contracts worth a total of £2.3 million to develop improved Electro-Optics and Infrared (EOIR) sensor capability, it was announced today.
The Advanced Vision 2020 and Beyond competition, run on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), sought innovation and novel approaches from industry, including small and medium-sized enterprises and academia.
Electro-Optic and Infrared (EOIR) sensors are a key military capability used for surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition, threat warning, target detection and more.
Potential use cases of the innovative approaches being developed include:
Additionally, EOIR sensors offer a complementary approach to radiofrequency sensors, being able to detect objects in environments where radar is challenged or to operate against objects that have a naturally lower radar signature so are harder to identify.
Andy Cole, Dstl project manager, said:
DASA associate delivery manager Katy Violet said:
Those awarded contracts are: