In collaboration with national European Border and Coast Guard (EBCG) authorities and supported by a host member state, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency – Frontex is organising a counter-uncrewed aerial systems solutions prize contest.
The contest seeks to stimulate the development of innovative, effective, and efficient solutions to counter unauthorised UAS activities such as illicit surveillance or smuggling across EU borders. It is in alignment with the Technical and Operational Strategy for European Integrated Border Management 2023-2027, which focuses on future-proofing external borders through innovative technological integration, situational awareness, and operational excellence.
Frontex says unauthorised UAS activities “pose significant challenges to border security, including hostile surveillance, smuggling, and other illicit operations”.
The contest will demonstrate innovative C-UAS capabilities (UAS detection, tracking, identification and neutralisation) and associated procedures relevant for border management with a focus on the neutralisation / mitigation components of the C-UAS solution. It will identify and assess systems in a simulated operational environment, and result in practical operational systems to be deployed and used by the EBCG community to strengthen border security.
The contest is structured in two phases: Phase 1 covers the submission and evaluation of C-UAS technical proposals. Once the applications meet the eligibility, exclusion and admissibility criteria, they will go through the technical evaluation process. The top five applicants will be selected in June 2025 based on the merit of their technical proposals and will each receive a prize of EUR 20k. The systems should be feasible for deployment and operations in phase 2, if selected in phase 1. Phase 2 includes live operational trials in October 2025 in a simulated border environment at a designated test site in Europe. The top five finalists from Phase 1 will be invited to participate as contestants in these trials over a period of 3–4 weeks. The solutions will be ranked based on the performances against the Phase 2 Prize award criteria. The prizes are EUR 270k, 220k, 170k and two prizes of 100k. The final winner is expected to be announced in November 2025.
Systems must be capable of detecting, tracking, identifying, as well as neutralising off-the-shelf and custom-made UAS, including those equipped with advanced counter-countermeasures. Proposed solutions must be able to be safely used in a border environment by border management authorities, either in a remote border area or in a populated area with considerations of local critical infrastructure.
Submissions are invited by March 17, 2025. The contest is open to all legal entities registered in EU Member States, Schengen-associated countries, and EEA countries. Joint applications are welcome, with a lead applicant coordinating submissions.
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