Funke
Anti-Drone Response

Hello people with radical new ideas! We need breakthrough innovation to define a new era of airspace security – intelligent, autonomous, and non-destructive. We need bold ideas. We need you.

Small and micro drones have become part of modern conflicts – and a growing risk to civilian safety. They are fast, low-cost, hard to detect – and often autonomous. Whether in war zones, over stadiums, or at airports: their uses range from surveillance to sabotage. Existing defense systems? Overwhelmed.

The SPRIND Funke Anti-Drone Response closes this gap and calls for a paradigm shift: What is needed are non-destructive, scalable and fully autonomous defense solutions that reliably detect threats, react quickly and neutralize drones without endangering the surrounding airspace or any third parties. The goal is not the kinetic flight-system destruction but mitigation by means of intelligent effects, diversion, blockade or other reversible measures.

Drone
Drone

The challenge: To develop a fully autonomous system that can detect, classify, and neutralize small and micro UAVs in real time – without weapons, external communication, or human intervention.

What we're looking for: an adaptive, integrated system that identifies threats, classifies them reliably, and responds with non-kinetic, reversible measures – such as capture, redirection, or blocking. The solution must prove itself in realistic scenarios and offer strong dual-use potential for civil and military contexts.

The Funke sparks your progress

The SPRIND Funke starts on August 15, 2025, and runs for just under four months in two stages. A jury of renowned experts will support SPRIND in evaluating applications and selecting up to 20 teams to enter the first stage. SPRIND provides substantial, tailored support throughout each phase of the Funke, including financial backing and direct access to a network of experts and potential collaborators.

For Stage 1, teams may receive up to 22,000 euros (plus VAT) over one month, with funding based on each team’s projected costs. After the first stage, the jury will review interim results, evaluating which teams display the strongest potential for transformative innovation. Up to ten teams will advance to Stage 2, with funding of up to 30,000 euros (plus VAT) per team over another 1,5 months.

FAQ

A team of experts from SPRIND makes a preliminary selection from the applications received. The final decision on admission to the Funke will be made on the basis of the application and the pitch in front of an external jury of scientists, industry experts and/or investors.

Yes, applications by project consortia are permissible. The leading consortium partner must be identifiable as the sole contracting partner with SPRIND and have its headquarters in the European Union, European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the United Kingdom, or Israel. International collaborations beyond these regions are welcome.

All expenses that serve to achieve the Funke goal can be paid with SPRIND funds. The start-up budget made available to each team is intended to cover the costs of research and development, material procurement, and any travel and accommodation costs that are incurred as part of the Funke. This can include, for example, personnel costs, equipment and materials, or rent.

The budgets provided for each team are intended for the duration of the SPRIND Funke. Teams should plan their resources accordingly in order to complete their project successfully. However, it is also possible to spend any remaining money beyond the Challenge funding period.

No. However, you should ensure that your team covers all the skills and expertise required to successfully overcome the challenges . It needs to be clear from the work plan that the tasks are manageable for the team.

The intellectual property rights created by the teams during the SPRIND Funke remain with the teams. Upon request, SPRIND receives a free and non-exclusive right to use the results found. Details can be found in the Participation agreement which will be published alongside the Call for Submissions.

Do you have further questions?
Please feel free to contact us at challenge@sprind.org.

Jano Costard, Head of Challenges
Jano Costard, Head of Challenges
More Challenges and Funken
Submission phase completed
The dream of fully autonomous flight is not yet a reality. What is missing are robust systems that can safely navigate complex environments without GNSS or human intervention.
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Composite Learning
1st stage of the Challenge 
The focus is on developing solutions that enable efficient model training on heterogeneous Hardware, from high-performance GPUs to CPUs of different types and manufacturers.
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