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iX Challenge: Extending protection to personnel travelling in armoured vehicles under drone attack

iX Challenge is a competition offering up to £60,000 in grant funding for UK-based businesses, academic institutions and individual entrepreneurs to develop ways of protecting personnel in armoured vehicles under drone attack. Open, closes 6 November 2026.

Run by Innovation Exchange, Innovate UK Business Connect, VSS · funded by Innovate UK

Checked against the official page (ktninnovationexchange.co.uk) on 8 Oct 2026.

VSS is seeking open-innovation solutions to extend blast mitigation protection for personnel in armoured vehicles under drone attack. The winning applicant, selected by VSS, can apply for grant funding for a 3-month project.

Apply or find out more Official page

These details are gathered from public web pages and are not financial advice. Check them with Innovation Exchange before you apply.

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Status and deadline

Status

Open

Confirmed on the official page

Deadline

Closes 6 November 2026 at 5pm (5 days)

As stated: Opens: 05/10/2026 Closes: 06/11/2026 5:00pm

Confirmed on the official page

How much

Up to £60,000

Confirmed on the official page

Who can apply

Established businesses, academic institutions, start-ups, SMEs, or individual entrepreneurs that are UK based or have the intention to set up a UK base can enter. Projects must request grant funding up to £60,000 and carry out project work in the UK.

Confirmed on the official page

Business size

Start-ups, Micro (under 10 staff), Small (10 to 49 staff), Medium (50 to 249 staff)

Confirmed on the official page

Sectors

materials, security-defence, transport

Could your business apply?

Tell us about your business and an AI will compare it with this scheme's rules: what fits, what doesn't and what to check with Innovation Exchange. It takes a few seconds.

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How to apply

Apply via the Innovation Exchange challenge page at ktninnovationexchange.co.uk (challenge 444), or contact the Innovation Exchange team.

Not confirmed on the official page

Where it is open: UK-wide

United Kingdom

Confirmed on the official page

HartlepoolMiddlesbroughRedcar and ClevelandStockton-on-TeesDarlingtonHaltonWarringtonBlackburn with DarwenBlackpoolKingston upon Hull, City ofEast Riding of YorkshireNorth East LincolnshireNorth LincolnshireYorkCounty DurhamCheshire EastCheshire West and ChesterNorthumberlandCumberlandWestmorland and FurnessNorth YorkshireBurnleyChorleyFyldeHyndburnLancasterPendlePrestonRibble ValleyRossendaleSouth RibbleWest LancashireWyreBoltonBuryManchesterOldhamRochdaleSalfordStockportTamesideTraffordWiganKnowsleyLiverpoolSt. HelensSeftonWirralDoncasterRotherhamNewcastle upon TyneNorth TynesideSouth TynesideSunderlandBradfordCalderdaleKirkleesLeedsWakefieldGatesheadBarnsleySheffield

Open across United Kingdom, so every council area in the North of England is shaded.

Drawn from the areas the funder names. If a scheme is only for part of a council area, check its own page. Boundaries from the Office for National Statistics.

Things we could not confirm

  • Project start date conflicts: text says January 2026 and also 1 March 2027 start, and completion 31 March 2027 vs 31 May 2027.
  • Pitch Day date has a typo ('226') and the page gives no clear pitch date beyond 25 November to 3 December.
  • Defence-sector and MOD/NATO compliance requirements apply; the challenge is run through Innovation Exchange, which may have its own rules.
  • Award is a grant only after pitching; selection is made by VSS.

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Source and last checked

Local Landscape gathers this information automatically from the pages below, then checks the key details against the official page. Checked against the official page (ktninnovationexchange.co.uk) on 8 Oct 2026. Its details last changed on 20 Oct 2026. No person has checked it, so confirm the details with Innovation Exchange before you apply.

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