MOD's PANOPTES counter-drone competition wants an autonomy-ready system on one Army vehicle

The Ministry of Defence's innovation arm is asking UK firms for a counter-drone system that can deal with mass, low-cost drone threats, fit on a single Army vehicle and grow into autonomous operation. On Friday 25 September UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) added a further batch of bidder questions and answers to the Project PANOPTES competition page on GOV.UK, and first-stage proposals are due at midday on Wednesday 30 September.

What the MOD is asking for

The competition document says Defence "seeks additional capability to detect, track, identify, decide and defeat mass and low-cost threats in a cost-effective manner and without being overwhelmed or exhausting stockpiles." It names the problem as "limited magazine depth, high cost-per-engagement, limited manoeuvrability, workforce intensity" and the difficulty of adapting as drone threats change.

• Effector: the MOD says it is "particularly interested in capabilities centred on Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) effectors" but is "open to submissions relating to credible alternative novel approaches". In the Q&A it says radio-frequency directed energy proposals get equal consideration "provided they achieve the required operational effect", and that other effectors "will be considered if they meet the KRs".
• Threat: the initial focus is "representative Class 1 UAS". The key requirements table, published as an image, sets a mission-kill range threshold of at least 500 metres, with 1 km as the objective.
• Platform: everything must sit on one vehicle. The Q&A says "Distributed architectures comprising sensing, C2 and defeat functions hosted across multiple networked vehicles are not within the scope", and that a 1,200 kg limit applies to the complete system. Integration onto a future uncrewed ground vehicle is described as "a planned objective".
• Eligibility: bidders must be UK-registered organisations, sole traders or academic institutes based in the UK, and the organisation "does not need to be UK-owned".

Where the autonomy line sits

The document describes a capability "capable of autonomous operation". Asked which functions would be autonomous and where human authorisation would remain, UKDI answered: "To prevent operator overload, defeat of multiple threats is likely to require “man-on-the-loop” rather than “man-in-the-loop” control." Asked about a fully autonomous hard-kill array "with or without a person on the loop", it replied that hard-kill options "may be considered, though human engagement oversight remains important." And asked whether engagement authority could stay outside a bidder's subsystem or whether autonomous engagement was expected, UKDI answered: "Either; as long as the asset can be protected."

On our reading, the MOD is signalling a supervisory model, in which a person oversees engagements rather than approving each one, while leaving bidders free to propose either autonomous engagement or a design where engagement authority sits elsewhere.

What changed in September

The page's change log records that on 18 September KR-02, the secondary passive radio-frequency sensor requirement, "has been rewritten to take out the Defeat requirement". The Q&A explains: "Defeating RF signals should not be the intent of the proposed equipment therefore the KR wording has been updated to reflect this." On 23 September the key requirements table was updated again and the Stage 1 deadline moved from 23 to 30 September, with later dates pushed back a week. The 25 September entry reads: "Uploaded 5 more technical Q&A".

Money and timetable

• Stage 1 is a white-paper-style outline plan, judged pass/fail on three criteria. The Q&A says "At stage 1 we will take through all who achieve the criteria."
• Stage 2, by invitation, closes on 5 November. "A share of up to £5 million" is available and the MOD "anticipates an award of multiple contracts", subject to the availability and quality of proposals, for projects of six months or less, and aims to start them in November or December.
• Asked how PANOPTES relates to a £150m counter-drone notice, UKDI said: "This is the same. The £150m notice allows us to scale in future phases."
• Organisations may submit only one proposal, and "All Intellectual Property will remain the property of the Supplier", although the Q&A adds that the MOD "may require the IP for specific deliverables" under a future contract, which it says will be confirmed later.

The published dates do not fully agree: the landing page gives a Stage 1 decision release of 8 October, while the competition document lists Stage 1 feedback on 7 October. Bidders should check with UKDI.

Why it matters

On our reading, PANOPTES is a concrete example of how the UK is writing autonomy into a weapons requirement: an open and modular architecture that, the requirements table says, "supports progression to full autonomous operation without replacement of the core system architecture", paired with a stated view that on-the-loop rather than in-the-loop control is likely to be needed for multiple threats, while leaving the location of engagement authority open. The competition is the first phase of what the MOD calls "a planned multi-phase capability development and acquisition pathway leading to a future Programme of Record, subject to future approvals and contractual arrangements." Firms planning to bid have until midday on 30 September, and the MOD advises submitting "at least one hour before the specified deadline".