UK Launches Defence Innovation Loans Round 23 to Support Dual-Use R&D

On 4 September 2025, Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, launched Round 23 of its Defence Innovation Loans programme, offering between £100,000 and £5 million in competitively priced loans to small and medium-sized enterprises. The initiative, run in collaboration with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), targets late-stage R&D projects that are close to market and demonstrate strong commercial potential in the defence and security domains. The loans are designed to bridge the financing gap often faced by innovative SMEs seeking to scale dual-use technologies, providing them with capital on favourable terms while requiring a clear route to commercialisation. By offering structured debt rather than grants, Innovate UK aims to incentivise repayment discipline while still supporting companies developing technologies critical to both national security and the broader UK economy. The programme is a cornerstone of the UK’s dual-use innovation strategy and a model of how targeted financing can accelerate technology maturation.