The Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) released a Request for Proposal (RFP), for the Emerging and Disruptive Technologies (EDT) Persistent and Pervasive Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (P2ISR) in April 2026.

P2ISR focuses on the persistent and pervasive collection, integration and exploitation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance across all five domains to deliver continuous situational awareness.

The call to market sought solutions to at least one of the 5 opportunity statements:

  1. How might we develop resilient, deployable, low size-weight-and-power edge processing and/or processors so that large volumes of sensor data from various sources can be analysed, interpreted, compressed and transmitted in order to reduce the burden on network bandwidth, platform constraints and human cognition?
  2. How might we develop technologies that underpin a communications network at the edge, in a congested, contested and complex EM environment, so that sensors within sensor webs can be independently networked and integrated into a common tactical picture?
  3. How might we develop persistent and pervasive sensing capabilities (active or passive), so that we can identify/monitor objects, people and/or signals across any number of detection ranges and/or environments?
  4. How might we develop a trusted automated system, or systems, so that we can conduct ISR in difficult and dangerous environments with minimal intervention?
  5. How might we develop capabilities so that we identify, deceive or deny adversary ISR capabilities in a range of environments and domains?

Milestones

Evaluations are underway.

P2ISR capabilities will enable the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to obtain a tactical, operational and strategic advantage that will directly enhances the ADF’s ability to deter a potential adversary from projecting force against Australia and contributes to the Strategy of Denial in line with the National Defence Strategy.

Background

The RFP opened on 8 April 2026 through AusTender – EDT P2ISR and closed 18 May 2026.

Evaluations are currently away.

A virtual marketing briefing for industry and academia occurred on 16 April 2026.

Emerging and Disruptive Technologies is designed to test basic ideas and concepts, as well as investing in deeper long term partnerships for nurturing critical research and development capability shaped by Defence’s future requirements.