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Tactical Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Managed Service

Home Office

This public procurement record has 5 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

17 Jun 2026 at 11:51

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Planning

15 Jun 2026 at 15:45

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
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 09:03

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Home Office, a central government public authority, is currently in the planning stage of a procurement process for a "Tactical Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Managed Service." The purpose is to enhance Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations for the Border Security Command. Based in London, the procurement is classified under services with a competitive flexible procedure and is connected to the Government Commercial Agency's Space Technology Solutions Dynamic Market (RM6370). With a total service value of £45 million, key dates include an expression of interest deadline on 8 August 2026, and the service is expected to be operational within four months post-award, with the contract beginning in March 2027. The contract spans three years, with potential extensions up to one year. The RPAS will primarily operate within UK Territorial Waters and the English Channel.

This procurement offers a substantial opportunity for businesses specializing in ISR technologies including unmanned aerial and underwater vehicles, data services, and digital mapping, amongst others. The selective procurement method favours companies that can provide comprehensive multi-layered ISR frameworks and high-quality real-time surveillance data. SMEs are particularly encouraged to participate, with the procurement valued at approximately £37.5 million (excluding VAT), promising considerable growth potential through long-term service provision. Interested suppliers must engage in the current planning and market engagement stages to stay informed of upcoming tender requirements and procedures.

How relevant is this notice?

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 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. (A 'Task Line' is provision of 8 hours of continuous sensor coverage in any 24 hour period.) The contract will be for three (3) years fixed with the option of extensions up to but not exceeding one (1) year. There is a requirement for the service to be fully operational within four months of the contract being awarded. The timelines will be fully detailed in the UK4 Tender Notice PLEASE NOTE: The Home Office will be using the Government Commercial Agency Space Technology Solutions Dynamic Market (RM6370) for this procurement. See 'Submission' section for further information.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Further extension periods up to but not exceeding 12 months / 1 year in total.

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/057047-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

32 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment

34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation

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

38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

48 - Software package and information systems

50 - Repair and maintenance services

60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

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

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

75 - Administration, defence and social security services

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

80 - Education and training services

90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services

98 - Other community, social and personal services

CPV Codes

32584000 - Data-bearing media

34114000 - Specialist vehicles

34700000 - Aircraft and spacecraft

35512400 - Unmanned underwater vehicles

35613000 - Unmanned aerial vehicles

38000000 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

38221000 - Geographic information systems (GIS or equivalent)

38290000 - Surveying, hydrographic, oceanographic and hydrological instruments and appliances

48000000 - Software package and information systems

48613000 - Electronic data management (EDM)

48614000 - Data-acquisition system

50000000 - Repair and maintenance services

60500000 - Space transport services

71000000 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

71351000 - Geological, geophysical and other scientific prospecting services

71352120 - Seismic data acquisition services

71352130 - Seismic data collection services

71354100 - Digital mapping services

71354200 - Aerial mapping services

72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

72260000 - Software-related services

72300000 - Data services

72313000 - Data capture services

73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

75220000 - Defence services

79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

80500000 - Training services

80550000 - Safety training services

80600000 - Training services in defence and security materials

90700000 - Environmental services

98113100 - Nuclear safety services

98391000 - Decommissioning services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£37,500,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
£37,500,000 £10M-£100M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
17 Jun 20262 months ago
Submission Deadline
8 Aug 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
20 Jul 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Mar 2027 - 28 Feb 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
Postcode Area
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

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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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