ASCA – Undersea Navigation Challenge (UNC)

ASCA, Defence’s Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator, seeks proposals to develop and demonstrate a sovereign Prototype Undersea Navigation System (UNS) that can operate in deep ocean transit without relying on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) or acoustic transmissions.

Responses are due 12 midday 3 October 2025 (AEST) via AusTender Ref – ASCA-UNC-2025-RFP.

The  Prototype UNS will be a low Size, Weight, Power and Cost (SWAP-C) system for  Autonomous Undersea Vehicles (AUV) that can operate with improved accuracy over traditional inertial systems.

The Commonwealth envisages that solutions could exploit geophysical references such as magnetic or gravitational anomaly maps, but is open to other technology solutions.

The Prototype UNS is expected to include all required components for a fully functional navigation system (for example: inertial motion unit (IMU)), auxiliary sensors (eg magnetometers, gravimeters, depth sensors), maps (if relevant), data processing electronics, data fusion and integration software), meeting the specifications for deployment in a AUV payload pressure vessel that will be supplied by the Commonwealth as Government Furnished Material.

ASCA expects to fund up to 2 technology development contracts, with total funding of $3.85M (GST incl) available for the Challenge.

Responses are due 12 midday 3 October 2025 (AEST) via AusTender Ref – ASCA-UNC-2025-RFP.