UK Defence Innovation has opened a competition offering up to £2 million for innovators able to remotely assess diverse terrain for safe passage during gap crossing and riverine operations.
The Phase 3 Map the Gap competition, launched on 21 April 2026 and run by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in partnership with the British Army, is expected to fund between three and four 15-month contracts. The deadline for submissions is midday on 16 June 2026 BST and the total value of the competition is up to £2 million excluding VAT.
The competition is structured around two distinct technical challenges. The first concerns measuring the ground bearing capacity of riverbanks and adjacent terrain from uncrewed aerial systems, in order to assess whether the ground can support crossing vehicles. The second seeks solutions for profiling water depth, flow and underwater hazards in rivers using sensors deployed from uncrewed aerial platforms. The Dstl-run programme is seeking proposals that can be moved rapidly from innovation into operational use, with a clear path to integration with existing and emerging British Army river crossing capabilities.
The Phase 3 competition builds on earlier Map the Gap activity funded through UK Defence Innovation, part of the continuing drive to accelerate innovation into the British Army and widen the Ministry of Defence’s supplier base beyond established primes. It is also consistent with the UK Defence Innovation remit to fund early-stage innovation that addresses specific, user-defined operational gaps and to support transition from research into procurement.
To support applicants, Dstl will host a launch webinar on 5 May 2026, setting out the competition scope, proposal requirements and evaluation criteria. One-to-one sessions between prospective suppliers and Dstl technical leads will follow on 13 and 15 May 2026, providing an opportunity for SMEs and academic teams to refine their proposals. Interested parties should contact accelerator@dstl.gov.uk to register for the webinar and to request a one-to-one slot. Full competition guidance is published on GOV.UK.
The opportunity is particularly relevant to UK small and medium-sized enterprises and academic research teams active in sensor technology, uncrewed aerial systems, payload integration, geospatial analytics, sub-surface sensing, hydrology modelling and autonomous data processing. With three to four 15-month contracts expected to be funded, successful proposals will deliver measurable, demonstrable capability within a compressed timeline. Suppliers should prepare now to meet the 16 June 2026 deadline and to leverage the structured engagement points on 5, 13 and 15 May.
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