Department of National Defence: Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems (Urban) Sandbox 2027

Sponsor’s Website

Visit the Government of Canada website for more information on the Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems (Urban) Sandbox 2027.

Internal Contacts

Industry and Partnership Services (IPS): ips@cunet.carleton.ca

Potential applicants are also encouraged to discuss this funding opportunity with their Faculty Research Facilitator.

Deadlines

Overview

The Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are seeking solutions that can detect, track and identify micro and mini uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) in an urban environment. From July 26 to 30, 2027, demonstrate your cutting-edge technology in the heart of downtown Ottawa.

Background and Operational Context

The rapid increase in the availability, affordability, complexity and capabilities of UAS continues to pose growing threats to DND, CAF, and our defence and security partners. Proposed counter-UAS (CUAS) solutions to address this challenge must consider not only current threats, but also emerging ones, as well as the means to detect, track and neutralize them.

The objective is to identify solutions capable of detecting micro and mini UAS in an urban environment, with the potential to be integrated into broader command and control systems.

We are open to receiving all types of solutions; however, technologies and concepts that are new, different and show strong potential for future development will be of greater interest than those that largely duplicate existing solutions. Detection methods that are substantively different from existing approaches are preferred, to fill a niche within a layered, multi-capability CUAS approach. Current known detection methods include, but are not limited to: 

• Radar-based detection 
• Acoustic detection 
• Radio frequency signal detection 
• Optical detection  

Priority may be given to the following technology areas based on demonstrated performance; however, solutions that improve existing technologies are also of interest:

• Beyond visual line-of-sight capabilities
• Low-cost sensor networks

What Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) Provides

• Five days of access to a full CUAS urban test environment in Ottawa, Ontario.
• On-site interaction with representatives from DND and CAF, as well as security partners from the United States Secretariat for Special Operations, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and others.
• $1.75 million in total prizes for the most promising solutions.

What Innovators Bring

• Advanced prototypes capable of detecting, tracking and identifying our micro and mini UAS.
• High calibre solutions to outsmart our team’s drones.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include:

• Individuals
• Academia
• Not-for-profit organizations
• Industry
• Provincial, territorial and municipal organizations
• Companies outside of Canada

Not eligible:

• Federal government departments and agencies
• Federal Crown corporations

Companies from outside of Canada: Sandboxes are not limited to Canadian-made products or solutions; however, the level of Canadian content in each application will be considered during the strategic selection process.

Submitting Your Application

1. Submit an internal Approval Form through our central awards management database cuResearch. Consult the user’s manual for guidance.
2. Submit an external application through the online Defence Innovation Portal.