Metamaterials for Defence, Security and Resilience

Applications and Opportunities

Advanced sensing, imaging and communications

Metamaterials can enhance the performance of radar, RF, terahertz, infrared, optical and acoustic systems, enabling improved sensing, imaging and threat detection. Applications include surveillance, security screening, infrastructure monitoring, electronic warfare and secure communications. Metamaterial-enabled antennas, filters and RF devices can reduce size, weight and power requirements while improving bandwidth, beam steering and overall system performance.

Autonomous systems, spectrum management and operational awareness

Advanced metasurfaces, imaging systems and sensing technologies can support navigation, tracking and environmental awareness in complex and contested environments. Metamaterials also offer new approaches to spectrum management, agile beamforming and electromagnetic control, helping to maintain operational effectiveness in congested electromagnetic environments. These capabilities are increasingly relevant to autonomous and uncrewed systems operating across land, air, maritime and space domains.

Signature management, survivability and protection

Engineered materials and surfaces can manipulate radar, infrared, thermal and acoustic signatures, creating opportunities for reduced detectability across a wide range of platforms. Mechanical metamaterials, including auxetic and architected structures, can provide exceptional impact resistance, blast protection, vibration isolation and energy absorption while minimising weight. These capabilities support enhanced survivability for personnel, vehicles, equipment and critical infrastructure.

Lightweighting and multifunctional structures

Metamaterials can combine structural, sensing, communication, thermal management and electromagnetic functions within a single engineered component. This enables lighter, more capable systems for aerospace, maritime, defence and space applications while reducing integration complexity and improving operational performance.

Extreme environments and energy autonomy

Metamaterials can support sensing, communications and monitoring in high-temperature, high-pressure, high-radiation and electromagnetically contested environments. Energy harvesting, wireless power transfer and low-power sensing technologies could enable autonomous monitoring systems to operate for long periods where battery replacement or wired power is impractical.

Maritime and underwater systems

Acoustic metamaterials can control sound propagation, reduce noise and improve underwater sensing and communications. Opportunities exist in sonar, underwater surveillance, harbour security, offshore infrastructure monitoring and autonomous underwater vehicles.

Critical infrastructure resilience

Metamaterial-enabled sensing and monitoring technologies have applications across energy, water, transport, communications and digital infrastructure. Advanced sensor systems could provide continuous monitoring of stress, vibration, corrosion, pressure changes and ground movement, helping operators identify developing faults before failures occur.

Particular opportunities exist within water networks, where distributed sensing technologies could help detect leaks and monitor the conditions that lead to them, reducing water loss and improving infrastructure resilience.

Secure hardware, supply chains and asset protection

Metamaterials can create distinctive electromagnetic, RF and optical signatures that are difficult to replicate, supporting authentication, anti-counterfeiting and tamper detection. Potential applications include the protection of secure supply chains and high-value assets such as critical electronic systems, sensors and printed circuit boards (PCBs) used within defence, energy, communications and transport infrastructure.

Connecting Challenges with UK Expertise

The Defence, Security and Resilience theme draws on expertise from across the Network’s Special Interest Groups and Challenge Areas. The Microwave & THz, Photonic, Acoustic, Mechanical, Active, and Theory, Modelling & AI SIGs collectively support applications spanning sensing, communications, imaging, energy harvesting, leak detection, underwater systems, lightweighting, auxetics, blast mitigation, optical processing and autonomous systems.

The theme also aligns strongly with the Manufacturing, Space & Aviation, and Sustainability Challenge Areas, helping to connect fundamental research with industrial deployment and real-world impact.

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How the UK Metamaterials Network Can Help

The UK Metamaterials Network brings together one of the world’s most comprehensive metamaterials communities, spanning academia, industry, government laboratories and end users. The Network connects organisations with expertise in electromagnetic, photonic, acoustic, mechanical and active metamaterials, alongside capabilities in modelling, AI-driven design, fabrication, characterisation, testing and systems integration.

Whether developing advanced defence capabilities, securing critical infrastructure, improving water network resilience, protecting high-value assets or accelerating the deployment of next-generation technologies, the Network can help identify partners, access specialist facilities and build collaborative R&D programmes that translate research into operational impact.