The Churchill Medal award winner 2025 recognised for critical advancement in military communications

On behalf of the joint professional engineering institutions, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is proud to announce Signaller Shaun Acar, 13 Signal Regiment, as the winner of this year's esteemed Churchill Medal, an emblem of excellence in engineering and technical advancement in the Armed Forces.

The award is presented annually by the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) partner Professional Engineering Institutions to recognise outstanding contributions from members of the Armed Forces and Civil Service. 

This year, a high number of nominations were received and carefully shortlisted to five exceptional finalists. Signaller Shaun Acar has been recognised for his innovative work in automating processes for Falcon, a critical military communications system. 

On winning, Shaun said: “It still feels surreal and I am still shocked to have won such an incredible award. This is the start for me and I will use this to inspire future work I do and try use it to inspire other people who have the talent but feel like they cant use it.”

Previously, monitoring and organising network systems was an incredibly manual task that could take up to two weeks and was prone to error. Using a programming language, he taught himself, Shaun developed an automated tool that reduces this process to under twenty minutes, significantly improving reliability and allowing engineers to focus on more complex issues. 

His solution includes robust error-checking, detailed visual logs, and categorisation for voice and data sensors to optimise performance. Shaun also created a manual version with a graphical interface for quick customisation, greatly enhancing operational efficiency. 

Originally from Malta, Shaun joined the British Army in 2021 and serves with 233 (Global Communications Network) Signal Squadron. A self-taught developer, he is passionate about modernising Defence systems and showcasing innovation within his Squadron.

This year’s awards were sponsored by Babcock and L3Harris.

Read more about the Churchill Medal.

 
ENDS

Notes to Editor

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Media enquiries to:

Megan Stearn
Senior Communications Executive
E: meganstearn@theiet.org