Small UK technology firms have a new opportunity to develop transport-security ideas, with the first application deadline less than a month away. UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) has opened Security Open Call 2026 Cycle 2, adding Department for Transport challenges to its existing security programme. Stage 1 closes at midday on 29 October 2026.
For businesses working on sensors, software, screening or robotics, the useful first step is to check whether a specific idea solves one of the published problems. An interesting product alone will not establish a fit.
What has changed?
The 1 October announcement adds transport requirements alongside continuing Home Office and National Protective Security Authority areas. The aim is to improve security without making transport operations less efficient.
This is a separate competition from the UKDI defence-technology Cycle 8 opportunity covered in July. Businesses should use the new Security Open Call documents and timetable rather than carry over that earlier competition’s assumptions.
Where a small firm’s expertise could fit
The DfT challenge details cover five areas: hold-baggage screening; detecting explosive threats in complex freight and large loads; screening people and bags with less removal of belongings; security sensors on autonomous or robotic platforms; and resolving passenger-screening alarms.
Several needs concern reducing uncertainty and disruption as well as detecting threats. For example, baggage screening should reduce false alarms while preserving processing efficiency. Another challenge considers adding security sensors to robots already used for cleaning, inspection or maintenance at transport hubs.
That suggests a useful way to assess a potential bid: explain which operator would use the technology, what decision it would help them make, and how performance could be measured. A small specialist supplier might have one valuable component without providing a complete screening system.
Check eligibility, funding and delivery
The full competition document permits eligible UK organisations registered with Companies House, sole traders and UK academic institutions, with project work undertaken in the UK. Projects must finish with a prototype demonstration at Technology Readiness Level 6 or 7, meaning testing in a relevant or operational environment. Routine consultancy is outside scope. Off-the-shelf demonstrations without experimental development are excluded unless the product is applied in a novel way to the security environment.
The announcement gives a maximum project value of £350,000 and a main duration of up to 12 months. Optional testing can extend the overall project to 18 months. The full document clarifies that the £350,000 ceiling includes that option; testing-only proposals have separate limits of £150,000 and six months. Funding is competitive, and optional trials are not guaranteed.
Before committing staff time, sketch a realistic delivery plan. Identify equipment, test access, partners and people you would need, then consider whether those dependencies could hold up the work. Treat any future customer orders as uncertain when assessing the business case.
Prepare the first submission early
Stage 1 is an overview of up to 900 words. A full Stage 2 proposal requires an invitation. Each proposal must select one focus area, and the cycle allows at most three Stage 1 proposals. The detailed timetable specifies midday GMT on 29 October for Stage 1 and 28 January 2027 for invited Stage 2 submissions.
Use UKDI’s submission guidance to prepare your online account and work through the form. UKDI advises submitting at least an hour before the deadline. Save work regularly and leave time for a colleague to check the application before submission; a saved draft is not a submitted bid.
UKDI’s guidance on working with the organisation explains how to contact an Innovation Partner through the supplier dashboard. For this competition, an Innovation Outline can support that discussion, but it does not count as the Stage 1 application. Raise questions early and check the competition’s response-time qualifications.
The practical next step is a focused fit check this week: read the transport challenges, choose the strongest relevant idea and decide whether the team can demonstrate a useful improvement. If the fit is convincing, start the overview and review the contractual requirements before investing in the fuller bid.
