HMGCC Co-Creation Challenge: Detecting Hostile RF Emitters in a Battlefield

Summary of Challenge

Can your technology help identify radio frequency (RF) emitters within a crowded and complex electromagnetic environment?

This is the latest 12-week, funded challenge from HMGCC Co-Creation and it’s now open for applications.

Modern electronic warfare environments contain growing numbers of RF emitters operating across many different frequency bands, waveforms and protocols. Identifying signals quickly and reliably in a crowded spectrum is a significant challenge, especially when transmissions are brief, infrequent or deliberately designed to avoid detection.

This is an ambitious challenge. Successful projects should deliver a prototype software capability to a minimum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 within 12-weeks.

HMGCC Co-Creation will fund successful applicants time, materials, overheads and other indirect expenses.

Context of Challenge

The UK defence and national security community supports its allies through a range of capabilities, including electronic warfare.

Electronic warfare can include various techniques to jam, misdirect or spoof over-the-air radio frequency (RF) communications and satellite navigation systems.

The first step in disrupting enemy communications is identifying the RF emissions they use.

Current approaches often struggle when operators encounter large numbers of RF emissions from friendly forces, civilian infrastructure, commercial technology and adversary systems all at once.

Traditional digital signal processing, which identifies RF emissions by matching their signals against a library of known examples, is no longer effective given the volume of information available.

HMGCC Co-Creation is looking for technology that can help operators detect and classify enemy RF emitters within a crowded RF environment.

The gap

Operators need to identify enemy assets and their RF communication protocols, but face several challenges: high levels of RF congestion, short or infrequent transmissions, variable operating conditions, unknown or changing signal characteristics, and the practical constraints of portable field equipment.

We need:

reliable detection of target signals in congested RF environments

fast scanning and signal classification

technology that works on portable, remote hardware with limited computing power

a system that can be easily adapted to detect new emitters and different RF environments

Dates

Competition opens: Monday 2 November 2026

Clarifying questions deadline: Wednesday 11 November 2026

Clarifying questions published: Monday 16 November 2026

Phase 1 competition closes: Monday 23 November 2026

Applicants notified: Monday 7 December 2026

Phase 2 competition opens: Monday 7 December 2026

Phase 2 competition closes: Thursday 7 January 2027

Applicants notified: Monday 18 January 2027

Pitch day in Milton Keynes: Thursday 28 January 2027

Commercial onboarding begins*: Wednesday 3 February 2027

Target project kick off: February 2027

*Please note, the successful solution provider will be expected to have availability for a one hour onboarding call via MS Teams on the date specified to begin the onboarding/contractual process.

Eligibility

This challenge is open to sole innovators, industry, academic and research organisations of all types and sizes. There is no requirement for security clearances. Solution providers or direct collaboration from countries listed by the UK government under trade sanctions and/or arms embargoes, are not eligible for HMGCC Co-Creation challenges.

How to Apply – Phase 1

Please submit your application on the HMGCC Co-Creation website. Any queries please email [email protected].

All information you provide to us as part of your application will be handled in confidence.

Applications must be no more than one page or one slide in length. HMGCC Co-Creation reserves the right to stop reading if this limit is breached. The page/slide limit excludes title pages, references, personnel CVs and organisational profiles.

Phase 1 applications will be assessed using the following scoring criteria:

Desirability

How closely does the proposal directly address the challenge?

Does the proposal achieve all essential requirements?

How many desirable requirements are achieved?

Is this something the user’s want?

How well is the benefit for government and dual-use described?

Is the benefit to the user’s well described?

Have the applicants identified dual-use markets?

Ambition of the proposed solution?

Does the solution provide an incremental step in capability or significant leap?

Does the solution introduce a new idea?

Following assessments, the successful applicants will be invited to submit a more in-depth proposal in phase 2. There will be feedback given to the successful applicants to aid their full proposal submission.

Challenge Documents

Full Challenge Document >>

Terms and Conditions >>