The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has launched early market engagement for Project Thunderbolt, a new initiative aimed at advancing weapons research and development (R&D).
The project, led by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), was detailed in a pre-procurement notice published on 13 September 2024.
Project Thunderbolt seeks to explore a range of cutting-edge technologies, including kinetic effects, energy, and hypersonic weapons.
The MOD aims to develop innovative and disruptive technologies that could shape the future of defence capabilities. According to the pre-procurement notice, the project will provide “technical stewardship across several technical disciplines,” with a focus on finding and funding technologies that will “deliver a revolutionary change” in defence.
The MOD is inviting potential suppliers to take part in an industry day later this month. The event will discuss the MOD’s successor Route to Market (RtM) for the Weapons Sector Research Framework (WSRF), an existing framework that supports weapons-related science and technology (S&T) efforts. The successor RtM will ensure timely and efficient responses to defence research needs, according to the notice.
The RtM framework aims to bring together the “best skills, knowledge, expertise, and facilities” to deliver tasks that respond to evolving defence needs. The notice stresses that the successor framework will ensure flexibility and capability in responding to the MOD’s requirements while also focusing on affordability and innovation.
The MOD is particularly interested in technologies that address the future of kinetic, energy, and hypersonic weapons. Hypersonic weapons, which travel at speeds exceeding five times the speed of sound, are viewed as a critical future asset in military arsenals globally.
The MOD is encouraging a wide range of suppliers, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary and community organizations (VCOs), to participate in the early market engagement process. The industry day will provide attendees with more information about the requirements, commercial strategies, and delivery methods that will shape the future RtM.
As stated in the notice, the purpose of the industry day is to “provide industry with visibility of the approach and the current options being considered for the successor RtM” and to collect “wider external views in order to further assure/refine the approach and challenges based on the current market.”
A key element of Project Thunderbolt is the MOD’s ambition to remain at the forefront of weapons R&D. The notice outlines that the MOD is looking for ways to “shape the future of defence and security capability by finding and funding affordable technology solutions that are disruptive or innovative in nature.”
The MOD hopes to use the RtM framework to meet the evolving demands of defence R&D, with a focus on flexibility and capability as new global threats emerge. The notice also highlights the need for “close interaction with the stakeholder and customer community” to ensure that the RtM meets the full range of weapons science and technology (S&T) research needs.
This article is based on a pre-procurement notice published by the UK Ministry of Defence on 13 September 2024. The notice outlines the goals and framework of Project Thunderbolt, an early market engagement initiative focused on weapons research and development.
Hypersonic, ok, since it is a power marker. Laser…
Projects, research, emerging tech. O.K., but could we just spend some money on putting right what’s wrong NOW. 😯
This is R&D seedcorn funding, that is a good use of money. What is more troubling is the raft of new weapons we appear to be developing in tandem, which dwarf the available weapons budget. FC/ASW cruise, SPEAR 3, Tempest, umpty UAVs, UUVs, big costs of C4ISR project, Morpheus and MAMBA, etc, etc. Now add hypersonic missiles and whatever else is next. The only way we can pay for all these wonder weapons is by cont8nually cutting service numbers and equipments, which has been the weary story for the last 14 years. We need to draw a line in the… Read more »
We have an R&D budget and we need to develop weapons. Everything on your list is practical and near term and desperately needed. Most is part of sensible international coalitions not involving the USA.
It’s the Quantum laser hypersonic photon torpedo crap we need to get rid of.
If BAE wants to be a US defence contractor and piss money up the wall on vanity projects that’s their right but it should n’t be with UK tax payers money.
It may well be needed but I doubt that even half of it is affordable, now or in the future. We have to balance what we can afford to develop with the need to properly equip the limited forces we have. Would that the MOD put as much effort and resource into getting a cannon on Boxer, developing some tracked IFVs, some more Challengers and Typhoons, a bigger buy of Poseidons and Wedgetail, speeding up the escort building schedule, ordering an additional Astute, getting the FSSS build underway soonest and so on. If we had to fight any time soon,… Read more »
Feeds money to the UK MIC, they love that.
Reasonable assessment of military Intelligence situation with civilians on board of MOD ,like the ley se on the pay- roll.checks of the CIA PENTAGON doing little and charging much. More military Intelligence professional personnel is needed in US UK GERMANY FRANCE to pursue policies where wisely allocated funds would make a difference in replacement of an outdated equipment and technology that would not work
We’ll, you’ve certainly got the problem right and I, and I expect many others, agree with you. There is,of course a place for R&D and for development of the U.K. industrial base but as you say it is a question of scale. Tempest.yes, a serious project with good partners potentially worth billions; SSN AUKUS the same. Where we go wrong is in the development of weapons that already exist, very often available from U.K. companies. The obvious example is Ajax vs CV90. The later could have been in service at half the cost ten years ago. A billion spent on… Read more »
The UK spends a fraction of what it used to on in-house research. This is how the system works now, seedcorn funding to industry.
Thanks Bob. Would you mind just having a look at my reply to Cripes above. Covers the ground I think.🙂
Very few of these new weapons will be within the financial capacity of SMEs. Only the consolidation of European missile development into MBDA has enabled it to compete with the USA., so high are the development costs. It might be better to concentrate on rebuilding sovereign capability for less glamorous things- naval guns, small arms, mortars etc. “Affordable technology solutions” might produce some drones but hypersonics will need very deep pockets. With all the deficiencies that need rectifying, these sorts of initiatives, like the RN interest in SMRs for surface ships, are a diversion. Look at how much has been… Read more »
dstl must be a world leader in initiating projects, completing them, not so much.
completing them successfully…..
Extreme events on the ground here in Ryazan Russia have changed into favorable response on the part of Putin’s security services details here. Pressure with Storm shadows does seem to affect those who surveil me and they show caution, fear and respect towards my position. Putin and Medvedev must be immediately drawn by our World Parliament of Peace International organization into negotiable agreement in Moscow and my Nigerian American wife Kate Grace Druzhinin GOLIK ZAGURSKY THOMAS GARCIA must be present by my side at these crucial moments. US ambassador Lynne Tracey must be equally present at the table. I see… Read more »
There was a multinational NATO project to develop an electrothermal gun, but it was cancelled at the end of the Cold War. The technology could be of use for tanks & warships.