Government funding worth up to £1 million has been announced to enable pioneering aviation security solutions to be tested and trialled in a variety of environments which could include sports venues, shopping centres, museums and airports.
The Future Aviation Security Solutions (FASS) programme is a joint initiative between the Department for Transport (DfT) and Home Office. It will award the funding to suppliers through the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) to cover the costs of testing and trialling their prototypes.
The funding is part of a government commitment to further strengthen aviation security and support the development of solutions that could lead to increased security effectiveness, shorter queues and faster more efficient screening at airports. It will allow those with innovative ideas capable of enhancing aviation security to bid for the opportunity to potentially trial their concept in a public or live airport environment, or put it through further testing in a laboratory to determine its detection capability.
Innovators can often struggle to access the materials and facilities that can help them gather the real-world data needed to take their pioneering ideas forward. The FASS programme understands that testing and trialling are crucial parts of the development process and this competition will support innovators to gain access to the materials and facilities they need. FASS is designed to encourage, fund and support the development of innovative technology to deliver a step change in aviation security. Its aim is to deliver solutions to aviation security challenges that can be deployed at checkpoints.
