Oct. 22, 2015 By Richard Tomkins (UPI)

PARIS  -- Britain and France are extending their funding for cooperative research into missile technologies under development.

The funding is for the Materials & Components for Missiles Innovation Technology Partnership, or MCM ITP, between the countries and industry partners, such as European missile-maker MBDA.

The program is to help the countries weapons capability, strengthen their technological bases. It presently manages research of more than 121 technologies and the new funding will allow the addition of more.

"We are glad to witness the UK and French governments' commitment extended over the next two years," said Mark Owen, the head of the MCM ITP Program. "The call for new project proposals is now open on the MCM ITP website and will close 30 November 2015. This gives the opportunity for UK/FR organizations to access this funding, with any projects that are approved starting in September 2016."

The annual budget of the organization is more than $14.1 million a year in combined government and industry contributions.

16 September 2015, Centre for Defence Enterprise, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and Ministry of Defence

The Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) will showcase some of the best research ideas it's funded, delivered by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

At DSEI 2015, 10 SMEs who have been successful through CDE funding competitions will present their work in 5-minute pitches. Time for networking will follow.

This session will take place on Thursday 17 September 2015, 12pm to 2pm in the West Theatre, Unmanned Zone. Find out more.

It will include an introduction to CDE opportunities, before hearing first hand from the 10 SMEs about their companies and their innovations.

The session will be very useful for those with an interest in innovative defence research and to meet up-and-coming SMEs who have been funded as part of the CDE supply chain.

The companies exhibiting for CDE are listed below. The innovation summaries link to a case study from each organisation.

Presentations from the companies will be also be published after the event via the links above.

About CDE

CDE funds novel, high-risk, high-potential-benefit research. We work with the broadest possible range of science and technology providers, including academia and small companies, to develop cost-effective capabilities for UK armed forces and national security.

CDE is part of Dstl.

source defense-unmanned.com

(Source: UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory issued July 30, 2014)

£9 Million Available for Future of Maritime Autonomous Systems

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) through the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and in partnership with a number of associations and industry bodies is making £9 million available to support the future of Maritime Autonomous Systems (MAS).

Autonomy in Maritime Unmanned Vehicles offers the potential to transform the manner in which many activities are conducted at sea such as the clearance of sea mines and persistent wide area surveillance. This funding for the development of MAS is available through four initiatives each addressing different areas of maritime autonomy.

Philip Smith, Affordable Maritime Presence Programme Manager at Dstl says: “The opportunities presented by Maritime Autonomous Systems are very exciting. However if we are to fully exploit these opportunities we need to invest in key areas such as “Supervised Autonomy” and “Deployment & Recovery” in order meet future requirements and position the UK as a world leader in next generation Maritime Mission Systems. The funding we are making available through these four initiatives is a significant step towards achieving this.”

The specific initiatives are:

-- Maritime Autonomous Systems (MUxV) Technology:
Sponsored by Solent Local Enterprise Partnership, this competition addresses Underwater Unmanned Vehicles (UUVs) and Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) for defence applications and is directed at SMEs in the Solent that can create or safeguard jobs in the local defence supply chain. The total funding available is worth £1 million and awards will be made for projects of up to £75,000 in value. The competition closes in April 2015. Find out more:
http://solentlep.org.uk/growing_places/solent_defence_growth_partnership_sme_fund

-- Autonomous Systems Underpinning Research (ASUR):
Addressing unmanned system enablers for all environments this competition, sponsored by Dstl, is worth £1.5 million. Open from September 2014 for a year, the competition will award projects of around £250,000 to be split into 2 phases. Find out more.
http://www.asur-programme.co.uk/calls-for-proposals/

-- Adaptive Autonomous Ocean Sampling Networks:
A Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition sponsored by the Natural Environment Research Council and Dstl addressing the tracking of dynamic maritime features with unmanned vehicles. With a total of £1.5 million available the competition is open from September 2014 for 18 months and will award projects of around £250,000 to be split into 2 phases. Find out more:
https://www.innovateuk.org/-/adaptive-autonomous-ocean-sampling-networks-aaosn-

-- Towards Excellence in Maritime Autonomous Systems:
Recently announced by the Minister for Portsmouth, Matthew Hancock, the competition sponsored by the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board, and Dstl addresses Maritime Unmanned Vehicles for defence and civil applications. Open from October 2014 for 3 years the competition is worth £5 million and will award projects of between £500,000 and £1.5 million directed to collaborative, business-led, consortia. Find out more.
https://www.innovateuk.org/funding-competitions-forthcoming


BACKGROUND NOTES:

Dstl
Dstl is a trading fund of the MOD, run along commercial lines. It is one of the principal government organisations dedicated to S&T in the defence and security field, with three main sites at Porton Down, near Salisbury, Portsdown West, near Portsmouth, and Fort Halstead, near Sevenoaks.
Dstl works with a wide range of partners and suppliers in industry, in academia and overseas. Around 60% of MOD’s Science and Technology Programme is delivered by these external partners and suppliers.

Technology Strategy Board
The Technology Strategy Board is the UK’s innovation agency. Its goal is to accelerate economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Technology Strategy Board brings together business, research and the public sector, supporting and accelerating the development of innovative products and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal challenges and help build the future economy. For more information please visit www.innovateuk.org.

Solent LEP
The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) was formed after the Government offered local areas the opportunity to take control of their future economic development. It is a locally-owned partnership between business, education and local authorities and plays a central role in determining local economic priorities and undertaking activities to drive economic growth and the creation of local jobs.

http://solentlep.org.uk/

10 avr. 2014  defenceheadquarters

Body armour containing ceramic ballistic plates helps protect UK Service personnel on operations – Picture UK MoD

11 September 2013 Ministry of Defence and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory

A new partnership between MOD and industry will develop the UK's first centre of excellence for ceramic armour development.

July 11, 2013 Source: US Navy

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. --- The Stiletto Maritime Demonstration Program partnered with the United Kingdom's Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) for an unmanned aerial systems capability demonstration, June 10-20, off the Maryland coast.

The Stiletto is a unique, maritime demonstration craft developed by the Defense Department to test littoral warfare concepts. Engineers and technicians with specialized expertise in maritime technology from Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Carderock's Norfolk detachment maintain and operate the 88-foot-long, composite-bodied, m-shaped vessel.

"Stiletto [capability demonstrations] are conducted in partnership with a host warfighting command or government organization," said Rob Tutton, NSWC Carderock engineer and Stiletto Maritime Demonstration program manager. "For this event, DSTL wanted to observe the operation of UAV's from a small boat platform for maritime missions."

DSTL supplies science and technology services to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence within the defense and military counter terrorism arenas. Three different UAVs, specifically selected for this demonstration, were launched from Stiletto's flight deck, and DSTL personnel observed launch, payload operation and recovery.

"The Stiletto capability demonstration offered a unique opportunity to take a potent government/industry brew of good ideas, practical options and hard work, turning the mix into a genuine capability demonstration for the allied warfighter, which in turn shows how to solve existing and future operational problems. The UK has no equivalent facility, and we are grateful for the support of our U.S. colleagues on the Stiletto team in making this recent capability demonstration a reality," said Paul Mather, DTSL surveillance capability leader.

The Stiletto Maritime Demonstration Program is sponsored by ASD Rapid Reaction Technology Office and managed by Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division's Norfolk Detachment, Special Projects Branch.

"This program was established to accelerate the delivery of innovative maritime technologies across all of the armed services," said Glenn Fogg, Rapid Reaction Technology Office director for the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Rapid Fielding. "It's open to any DoD commands, government agencies, industry, or academic institutions that have a need to observe or demonstrate their technologies underway in as relevant an environment as possible."

Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division's Norfolk Detachment, a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command, is located in Virginia Beach, Va., and provides full-spectrum, full-lifecycle engineering for combatant craft, boats, watercraft and associated hull, mechanical, electrical and electronic systems.

June 4, 2013 by Think Defence

Did we discuss this, not sure?

From Akzo Nobel

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) asked AkzoNobel – makers of paints and coatings such as Intergard, Sikkens and Dulux – to develop a high-tech paint with a colour that would be suitable for the desert environments where most military operations are focused.

The new camouflage paint – known as Army Brown – will replace the sand colour that has been used on Army vehicles since before the Second World War.

To produce the new colour the MoD collected high resolution imagery in Afghanistan and flew rock and soil samples back  to Britain, where  a team at the Government’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory developed a colour optimised for vehicles operating in that environment.

AkzoNobel scientists were then asked to develop a new water-based camouflage coating that conformed with the colour requirements. Developed under the Intergard brand the new Army Brown paint is similar to the tan colour used by the military in the US and Australia. It is designed to provide a better balance between arid, desert-like areas and the green zone with its lush vegetation.

AkzoNobel has developed a special temporary peelable coating which can be quickly sprayed or brushed onto the Army vehicles to provide a quick camouflage change and then peeled off. The revolutionary coating is capable of absorbing chemical warfare agents and stopping them getting through to the vehicle underneath. The contaminated coating can then be stripped off and disposed off. It also protects the vehicles against weathering and corrosion.

AkzoNobel scientists are currently working on further developments which would mean the coating would change colour when it absorbed toxic chemicals, alerting the soldiers that they are under chemical attack. Rather than just absorbing the chemicals it would also be able to neutralise them.

Army Brown is being used on the UK’s Foxhound light patrol vehicles. Army Brown has also been applied to some of the Warrior tracked armoured vehicles deployed to Afghanistan.

The Intergard coating has been developed by AkzoNobel’s aerospace coatings team. AkzoNobel’s Global Market Director Andrew Richardson said:

““We were delighted to be asked to work on the new colour for British Army vehicles and continue our partnership with the Ministry of Defence.
“The new paint colour has been specifically designed for the desert-like environment where most operations currently take place.
“The water-based paint will provide an exceptional performance in the most challenging environments.”

• Even the paint is going hi tech, interesting about the peelable nature of it and the level of protection against chemical agents.