Novel Amphibious Craft

Key Features

DASA are seeking innovations to help develop a novel craft to enable Commando Forces to safely and rapidly insert themselves into high-threat environments.

Programme:     DASA

Award:     Share of up to £350,000

Opens: 19th Oct 2022

Closes: 10th Jan 2023

! This scheme is now closed

Novel Amphibious Craft

Overview

DASA’s new Themed Competition seeks innovations to help develop a novel craft to enable Commando Forces to safely and rapidly insert themselves into high-threat environments.

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:

  1. Travel at sustained high speed over a long range
  2. Provide the ability to deliver personnel and light vehicles to a coastal access point with limited or no impact on operational speed/capability
  3. Relaunch from the coastal access point
  4. Operate with low signature across all spectrums (thermal, radar, visual, acoustic, etc.) to reduce the probability of detection

Scope

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 However, advances in coastal defences mean that an amphibious assault relying on outdated technology and concepts can be deterred, disrupted, and defeated.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:

  • How to reduce the signature across multiple spectrums (thermal, radar, visual, acoustic, etc.)
  • How to deliver the Commando Force (Troops and Vehicles) across the water gap and minimise the requirement for wading
  • How to routinely land onto/retract from an unprepared coastal access point
  • How to sustain speeds of at least 25kts in the fully loaded condition, in Sea State 2

 

 

Specific Themes

Proposals need to develop robust, reliable and durable systems that can be operated by Royal Marines and maintained by Royal Navy Engineers in harsh remote environments.

The competition is looking for innovative and effective technologies that can be easily manufactured, repaired and maintained at scale once developed.

This competition has two themes. Suppliers 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 TRL theme up to TRL 4 (proof of concept); designs and concepts with a realistic pathway of delivery will be considered.

Features

Your proposal should include evidence of:

  • how the challenges above have been addressed either individually in Themes 1a – 1c, or in their entirety (Theme 2)
  • theoretical development, method of advancement or proof of concept research which can demonstrate potential for translation to practical demonstration in later phases
  • innovation or a creative approach
  • clear demonstration of how the proposed work applies to any defence and security context

Eligibility

Successful bids must include provision of suitable supplier-provided test facilities and supplier-provisioned test instrumentation, vehicles and all associated materials.

As part of this process, suppliers will be required to provide risk assessments and sufficient documentation to confirm the safety of their system to project staff and must adhere to the regulations within Defence Maritime Regulations.

For more information on DASA’s Novel Amphibious Craft competition, visit this link.

Interested in applying for this competition?

Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.