Innovation Support to Operations (ISO)

Innovation Support to Operations is a fast-moving UK Defence Innovation competition line under the Ministry of Defence, aimed at urgent operational problems rather than longer-horizon research. It sits alongside the themed competitions but is structured around repeat cycles with short response times. The current phase uses quarterly-ish cycles, with Cycle 7 closed on 12 May 2026. Contracts last six months or less, must show TRL 6 within six months, and can reach a maximum value of £1M; the median award in the extracted data is £350K. Challenge areas in the latest cycle included counter-UAS, autonomous maritime navigation, GNSS-denied navigation, telemetry, and maritime guidance. Applicants need to be UK-registered and operating in the UK, and the route fits teams that can move a solution into fieldable shape quickly and at manufacturing scale within roughly a year. The program rewards specificity: a team that can map its idea to one of the stated operational problems and prove progress inside a short contract window has the clearest path.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.