Planning

Carrier Strike Airborne Early Warning Initial Market Engagement

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

22 Apr 2025 at 13:06

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

09 Apr 2025 at 09:12

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

09 Apr 2025 at 08:42

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Ministry of Defence is in the planning stage of a procurement process titled "Carrier Strike Airborne Early Warning Initial Market Engagement." This initiative focuses on sustaining an airborne surveillance system for the Royal Navy's Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers, which is essential for providing timely warnings of air and surface threats. The procurement falls under the "goods" category within the defence and security sector, with an estimated contract value between £500,000,000 and £1,500,000,000. A Request for Information (RFI) is currently active, with responses required by 6 May 2025. The procurement process is taking place in the United Kingdom, specifically in Portsmouth, and aims to explore potential future solutions without immediate plans for a procurement launch.

This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses within the aerospace and defence sectors to showcase capabilities and propose innovative solutions for maritime patrol aircraft technologies. The primary focus is on leveraging industry capacities to enhance the defence systems within the scope of the Carrier Strike Group operations. Companies adept in developing advanced surveillance systems and those with expertise in military aviation technologies would find this procurement process particularly well-suited for pursuing the Ministry of Defence's requirements. By engaging in this market exploration, businesses can position themselves for future collaboration and growth within the defence supply chain.

Find more tenders on our Open Data Platform.
How relevant is this notice?

D3 Tenders Premium

Win More Public Sector Contracts

AI-powered tender discovery, pipeline management, and market intelligence — everything you need to grow your public sector business.

Start Free Trial Book a Demo
All Features Pricing

Notice Information

Notice Title

Carrier Strike Airborne Early Warning Initial Market Engagement

Notice Description

The Royal Navy employs an airborne surveillance system that operates from the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers to provide the Carrier Strike Group (comprised of the aircraft carrier, support vessels, escort frigates and escort destroyers) with sufficient warning of air and surface threats to allow for effective counter threat action. To sustain the capability, MOD is exploring potential future solutions, that will underpin the defence and security of the UK in the future, and as such is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to industry. The objective of the RFI is to understand the capacity and capability of the industrial base to support this capability requirement. The implementation options in the RFI are not prescribed, so we are interested in views from all interested parties on the best possible solution. Please respond by completing the Microsoft Form in the link below by 17:00 on the 6th May 2025. Link to RFI response form: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=7WB3vlNZS0iuldChbfoJ5a6aZaFlrNdKrj-sA8pUVe1UMTU1WE42RDIwWkJHM1NTVTg4T1lKUUI5Sy4u Please send any queries about this market engagement exercise to: dean.cordwell102@mod.gov.uk. Where relevant and appropriate, this market engagement event may be followed by further engagement exercise which will be notified through normal channels (e.g. Defence Sourcing Portal, Find a Tender) For the avoidance of doubt, this notice is not informing the market of an imminent procurement. All costs pertaining to the completion of this response are to be borne by the responders. Please note, procurement dates and values in this notice are subject to governance and should not be viewed as a firm commitment. This RFI is purely to gain market knowledge and is not the launch of a new procurement. Pricing and timelines will be refined through market engagement, at this stage a cost of between PS500,000,000 and PS1,500,000,000 and a contract start date of between May 2026 and May 2027, with an introduction into service of 2030-20235 is estimated.

Planning Information

Please respond by completing the Microsoft Form in the link below by 17:00 on the 6th May 2025. Link to RFI response form: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=7WB3vlNZS0iuldChbfoJ5a6aZaFlrNdKrj-sA8pUVe1UMTU1WE42RDIwWkJHM1NTVTg4T1lKUUI5Sy4u

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04ff4e
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016248-2025
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

35 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment

CPV Codes

35611600 - Maritime patrol aircrafts

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,000,000,000 £1B-£10B
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
22 Apr 202510 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
1 Jan 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Jan 2027 - 1 May 2032 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Contact Name
Dean Cordwell
Contact Email
dean.cordwell102@mod.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
PORTSMOUTH
Postcode
PO2 8BY
Post Town
Portsmouth
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ3 Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ31 Portsmouth
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Portsmouth
Electoral Ward
Nelson
Westminster Constituency
Portsmouth North

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-04ff4e-2025-04-22T14:06:02+01:00",
    "date": "2025-04-22T14:06:02+01:00",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-04ff4e",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-PPON-PHVX-4316-ZVGZ",
            "name": "Ministry of Defence",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                "id": "PHVX-4316-ZVGZ"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "NCHQ",
                "locality": "Portsmouth",
                "postalCode": "PO2 8BY",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKJ31"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "name": "Dean Cordwell",
                "email": "dean.cordwell102@mod.gov.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ],
            "details": {
                "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence",
                "classifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
                        "id": "publicAuthorityCentralGovernment",
                        "description": "Public authority - central government"
                    }
                ]
            }
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-PPON-PHVX-4316-ZVGZ",
        "name": "Ministry of Defence"
    },
    "planning": {
        "milestones": [
            {
                "id": "engagement",
                "type": "engagement",
                "description": "Please respond by completing the Microsoft Form in the link below by 17:00 on the 6th May 2025. Link to RFI response form: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=7WB3vlNZS0iuldChbfoJ5a6aZaFlrNdKrj-sA8pUVe1UMTU1WE42RDIwWkJHM1NTVTg4T1lKUUI5Sy4u",
                "dueDate": "2025-05-06T23:59:59+01:00",
                "status": "scheduled"
            }
        ],
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "013840-2025",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/013840-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-04-09T09:42:21+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "013860-2025",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/013860-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-04-09T10:12:55+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "016248-2025",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016248-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-04-22T14:06:02+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            }
        ]
    },
    "tender": {
        "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-04ff4e",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "2023/54",
            "scheme": "UKPGA",
            "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
        },
        "title": "Carrier Strike Airborne Early Warning Initial Market Engagement",
        "description": "The Royal Navy employs an airborne surveillance system that operates from the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers to provide the Carrier Strike Group (comprised of the aircraft carrier, support vessels, escort frigates and escort destroyers) with sufficient warning of air and surface threats to allow for effective counter threat action. To sustain the capability, MOD is exploring potential future solutions, that will underpin the defence and security of the UK in the future, and as such is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to industry. The objective of the RFI is to understand the capacity and capability of the industrial base to support this capability requirement. The implementation options in the RFI are not prescribed, so we are interested in views from all interested parties on the best possible solution. Please respond by completing the Microsoft Form in the link below by 17:00 on the 6th May 2025. Link to RFI response form: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=7WB3vlNZS0iuldChbfoJ5a6aZaFlrNdKrj-sA8pUVe1UMTU1WE42RDIwWkJHM1NTVTg4T1lKUUI5Sy4u Please send any queries about this market engagement exercise to: dean.cordwell102@mod.gov.uk. Where relevant and appropriate, this market engagement event may be followed by further engagement exercise which will be notified through normal channels (e.g. Defence Sourcing Portal, Find a Tender) For the avoidance of doubt, this notice is not informing the market of an imminent procurement. All costs pertaining to the completion of this response are to be borne by the responders. Please note, procurement dates and values in this notice are subject to governance and should not be viewed as a firm commitment. This RFI is purely to gain market knowledge and is not the launch of a new procurement. Pricing and timelines will be refined through market engagement, at this stage a cost of between PS500,000,000 and PS1,500,000,000 and a contract start date of between May 2026 and May 2027, with an introduction into service of 2030-20235 is estimated.",
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "additionalClassifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "35611600",
                        "description": "Maritime patrol aircrafts"
                    }
                ],
                "deliveryAddresses": [
                    {
                        "region": "UK",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UK",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UK",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ],
        "value": {
            "amountGross": 1200000000,
            "amount": 1000000000,
            "currency": "GBP"
        },
        "mainProcurementCategory": "goods",
        "specialRegime": [
            "defenceSecurity"
        ],
        "aboveThreshold": true,
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "contractPeriod": {
                    "startDate": "2027-01-01T00:00:00+00:00",
                    "endDate": "2032-05-01T23:59:59+01:00"
                },
                "status": "planning"
            }
        ],
        "communication": {
            "futureNoticeDate": "2026-01-01T23:59:59+00:00"
        },
        "status": "planning",
        "amendments": [
            {
                "id": "016248-2025",
                "description": "Further to our request to submit any clarifications questions see below clarification questions and answers: CQ 1 Question: 1a. CQ - What are the requirements of the platform? (Range, Endurance, Weight, Fuel type, Airspace Restriction, DAS, Altitude...etc) 1b. CQ - What are the sensor requirements? (in terms of EO/IR &/or Radar) 1c. CQ - What are to parameters of the sensor that you would like to achieve? (Radar detection range, EO/IR sensor range, GMTI Range) CQ1 Answer: The authority expects that the potential solutions could vary greatly with regards to combinations of numbers of platforms, endurance, and sensor performance and do not wish to specify those at present. The key is \"sufficient time to enact counter-threat measures\" as detailed in the opening statement of the RFI. At this early stage, you have the freedom to propose systems/solutions that is able to maximise this time persistently unbounded by system parameters imposed by The Authority. CQ2 Question: Would a platform need to be registered on the UK Military Airc raft Register to meet the requirement for a demonstration? CQ2 Response: The RN is currently undertaking broad market engagement. At this stage, platforms do not need to be registered with the military aviation authority. Decisions on how any future demonstrations may take place will be made on the results of this market engagement."
            }
        ]
    },
    "language": "en"
}