UK government funds SME defence innovation with Defence Technology Exploitation Programme

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) within the UK MoD launched a new scheme on 28 July to encourage SMEs to engage with defence innovation and technology development.

Called the Defence Technology Exploitation Programme (DTEP) and backed with £16 million ($19.48 million) of government funding, the new scheme provides grants of up to 50% of a project’s value, or up to a maximum of £500,000, in support of new defence ventures.

The grants provided will be available for collaborative projects involving SMEs and Tier 1 defence contractors, with the aim of supporting the integration of new and innovative technologies and blending these into the MoD supply chain.

Defence procurement minister Jeremy Quin said that DTEP reflects ‘how we support SMEs and larger suppliers to work together to improve the resilience and competitiveness of the MoD’s supply chain’.

Applications for DTEP funding are open all year round and will be assessed by DASA in three-month cycles.