Planning

Tactical Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Managed Service

HOME OFFICE

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Planning

23 Mar 2026 at 08:45

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

04 Feb 2026 at 09:54

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

19 Jun 2025 at 08:03

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Home Office is planning a procurement process for a Tactical Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Managed Service to enhance the Border Security Command’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance operations. Located in London, the procurement falls under the public authority Central Government category and involves providing RPAS for vessel and individual detection, identification, and tracking within UK territorial waters including the English Channel. The industry day is scheduled for 2nd April 2026, with expressions of interest requested by 31st March 2026. This preliminary engagement stage aims to gather market information prior to the formal tender initiation expected in May 2026.

This tender presents significant growth opportunities for businesses involved in unmanned aerial vehicles, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services, and data services. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are particularly encouraged to participate, given the procurement's suitability for them. The contract, valued at £29 million with a potential extension, requires the RPAS to provide 5000 task hours per year. Businesses with capabilities in RPAS supply, capable of supporting multi-layered ISR frameworks with real-time data transmission, stand a good chance to compete in this opportunity. Key for interested suppliers will be registering on the Crown Commercial Service's Dynamic Purchasing System RM6235 to be eligible when the formal tender is published.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Tactical Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Managed Service

Notice Description

The Home Office seeks an experienced commercial provider to supply capable Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) to support the Border Security Command's (BSC) Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations. The RPAS must be capable of detecting, identifying, and tracking vessels and individuals within the defined area of operations, operating as part of a multi layered ISR framework that includes manned aviation, maritime assets, and land based infrastructure. The systems will provide enhanced situational awareness to inform operational decision making and support the effective tasking and coordination of operational assets. The primary operational requirement is for RPAS' that can conduct routine surveillance flights to detect, track, and identify vessels and people to support the primary Search, Rescue and Recovery (SRR) Vessels within the area of operations. The SRR vessels will operate primarily within UK Territorial Waters (TTW) and the wider UK Area of Operations, including the English Channel. RPAS' information will be transmitted in real-time to an existing Command and Control facility to enable real-time coordination of responses to threats. RPAS' will also be required to perform targeted surveillance to record high-quality video footage to support Criminal and Financial Investigation (CFI) prosecutions. The Home Office have a requirement for one (1) Supplier to provide RPAS' for 5000 on-task sensor coverage hours per year, over three (3) separate task lines, for the purpose of supporting BSC operations. The Home Office requires availability of two (2) task lines to provide year-round coverage including weekends and public holidays. An additional third task line will be required for approximately six-months per year. The contract will be for three (3) years fixed with a possible plus one (1) year extension, if mutually agreed at the time by both parties. There is a requirement for the service to be fully operational within four months of the contract being awarded (Contract Award will be on/or before 30th November 2026). There will be an expected mobilisation period starting on the 01st of December 2026

Planning Information

Border Security Command require a supplier who can provide this as a managed service to meet an aspirational award date of 12/2026. Suppliers will need to register in the first instance on the Authority's eSourcing portal - https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html Following from the Prior Information Notice issued in February 2026 (Notice identifier: 2026/S 000-009787) , the Authority would like to engage with suppliers, to determine the level of interest, capacity and capability to meet the requirements. To do this, they would like to invite interested suppliers to an Industry Day event, where the Authority will outline their requirements and provide further information on the procurement process. The Industry Day is scheduled to take place on 2nd April, and will be conducted via Microsoft Teams. The event is expected to last for half a day, however this will be confirmed within the placeholder that will be issued. Please note, that this may be subject to change. This market engagement and any subsequent activity is for information gathering purposes only, and has no impact on selection or the invitation to tender stage. It is important to note that this PIN is not a call for competition and as such potential providers will need to express an interest in any future tender opportunity once a notice is published. It should also be noted that this PIN invites individuals and organisations to express an interest in this market engagement exercise only. It is not a pre-qualification questionnaire and is not part of any pre-qualification or selection process. To express an interest in this market engagement, participants are requested to send an expression of interest to Katey.Young4@homeoffice.gov.uk by 31st March 2026. The subject title of the email should read Tactical Airborne - Expression of Interest, and the email should confirm your organisation's name, one contact name, one e-mail address and one telephone number. These contact details must be those used to register on the Home Office e-Sourcing Portal on Jaggaer. Following expressions of interest suppliers will be given access to the event on the Authority's eSourcing portal, where they will be issued with a Non-Disclosure Agreement, to be signed and returned to the Authority, via the eSourcing portal. Once received, the Industry Event meeting invite will be issued out to the Supplier. Please note, the contact details provided by interested suppliers at the point of expression of interest will also be used to accept/verify their attendance for this MS Teams webinar engagement event. It may be required to limit Supplier attendance to two (2) representatives from each organisation, however this will be confirmed in due course. The content of this PIN, including the nature of works, services and estimated value, may be subject to change. This PIN has been published twice, one under Public Contract Regulations (PCR2015) and one under the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23).

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-054f91
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026044-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

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

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

CPV Codes

35613000 - Unmanned aerial vehicles

35720000 - Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance

72300000 - Data services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£29,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
23 Mar 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
1 May 20261 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 Mar 2027 - 31 Mar 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
HOME OFFICE
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 4DF
Post Town
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

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. 

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