Notice Information
Notice Title
NSpOC: Sovereign Sensor - Active RF Radar Capability
Notice Description
**This notice supercedes UK3 Planned Procurement Notice reference 2026/S 000-078126, which was issued on 3rd August and modified on 17th of August.** **This contract is an Exempt Contract within the meaning of the Procurement Act 2023, in accordance with Schedule 2, paragraph 25 of the Act (national security). Accordingly, this procurement does not constitute a covered procurement and the provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 relating to covered procurements do not apply. Where any provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 are expressed to apply more generally to a "procurement", the Authority has determined that those provisions are inapplicable in the circumstances of this procurement, having regard to the fact that the application of any such provision would be inconsistent with, or would undermine the operation of, the national security exemption. Any reference by the Authority to concepts, procedures or terminology derived from the Procurement Act 2023 is for convenience only and does not consititute an acknowledgment that the Act, or any particular provision of it, applies to this procurement or any resulting contract. ** The UK Space Agency (UKSA), as part of the National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) programme, intends to commence a competitive procurement for the deployment of a sovereign, high-power space surveillance radar in the Southern Hemisphere (final location is still to be determined but bidders should note the requirement to deploy into the Southern Hemisphere) to enhance the UK's Space Surveillance & Tracking (SST) and Space Domain Awareness (SDA) capability. It is expected that the radar system will operate as a key national asset, providing enhanced detection, tracking and custody of resident space objects, particularly small-size debris and operational satellites in Low Earth Orbit. It will deliver significant improvements to UK resilience, space safety, collision avoidance, re-entry monitoring, fragmentation detection, and wider civil-military situational awareness objectives. The budget for this hardware requirement is capped at PS25,000,000 exclusive of VAT and will cover the following elements: * Radar hardware (including, but not limited to, antenna systems, signal generation/timing/processing hardware, power systems, cooling and thermal management) * Radar software (noting the Authority is likely to specify software covers both edge and cloud elements, with a 10 year licence including free security and basic maintenance updates) * Software development to integrate software with wider Government systems (including capture and implementation of user stories/change requests to better exploit the equipment provided) * Two separate training courses - one focused on tasking/sensor capabilities and one focused on hardware support and maintenance * Obtaining spectrum rights and permissions: whilst the Authority will support the appointed contractor with this, responsibility will rest with the appointed contractor * Software and hardware support and maintenance for the initial 3 year contract term * Cyber assurance * Project and contract management (including interface with the infrastructure contractor) * Collaboration around installation and commissioning at final deployment location The following is currently expected to be in scope of the infrastructure and enabling works contract, which is expected to be valued at PS5,000,000 exclusive of VAT. Prospective bidders should note that at least some staff are likely to require SC or DV clearance for this requirement. To assist prospective bidders with planning, an indicative requirements list is provided below. Depending on final deployment location, some of these elements may not be required: * Planning investigation and, if required, planning consents * Site surveys and ground works (including environmental and site safety surveys) * Enabling works to prepare the site for radar deployment (e.g. construction of concrete base) * Site civils and foundations (design and build) * Power and data connectivity * Potential utilities connections as required (e.g. drainage) * Collaboration around installation and commissioning at final deployment location * Temporary or permanent access to site, as required * Site security (e.g. perimeter fencing, CCTV, gates) * Site support * Project and contract management (including interface with the radar hardware contractor) The following is expected to be in scope of neither contract: * Ongoing utilities costs * Spare components (the radar contractor will be expected to include in the pricing schedule the cost of spare components) A suitable location for deployment has been identified but discussions cannot progress further until the actual equipment specification and characteristics are known. The appointed contractor will therefore be required to work closely with the Contracting Authority and the appointed infrastructure contractor to ensure successful deployment. Bidders will be provided with details of the broad location and constraining assumptions at PSQ stage to assist with technical responses, but should note the final location is unlikely to be disclosed until tender stage. The Contracting Authority will only enter into discussions relating to deployment locations with bidders under NDA, noting that detailed discussions will not be possible at SQ stage. Please note the Contracting Authority will not respond to any further queries raised on the technical specification or conditions of participation at this point: these will need to be raised as formal clarifications via the e-tendering portal in accordance with the timetable specified in the procurement documents.
Lot Information
Lot 1
Renewal: Time extension may be required if known risks materialise (e.g. delays in securing permissions) or if additional time is required to train personnel ahead of handover.
Planning Information
DSIT conducted a previous round of pre-market engagement on Friday the 17th of April. Following this, it is our intention to make some changes to this procedure in response to supplier feedback. We would like to invite suppliers to a webinar to outline these updates on Thursday the 16th of July 14:00 - 15:00. We will be outlining a number of changes to the procedure: * Splitting the original contract (UKSAC26_0005) into two separate contracts. This contract (UKSAC26_0046) will cover the manufacture of the radar capability (including software capabilities). It will not cover the enabling works associated with the radar, though the appointed supplier will be expected to support installation and to work with DSIT and the appointed infrastructure contractor to ensure successful installation and handover. UKSAC26_0047 will cover the enabling works and installation of the radar. * We will update on our position in relation to international primes in relation to this tender. It is still DSIT's intention to issue this procurement as a national security exempt procedure, but we have listened to feedback and considered how to better manage the security risks associated with this tender. * We will provide an update on the anticipated location of deployment based on the feasibility study currently underway. * We will provide an update on the anticipated timetable and procedure, which we expect to remain broadly similar to that set out at the previous pre-market engagement event. If you wish to attend the webinar, please email commercial@ukspaceagency.gov.uk. We will offer a limited number of 1:1 engagement slots on the same basis as before following the webinar (these sessions will be minuted and the contents kept confidential to the project team) - we will prioritise these slots for those companies intending to prime the radar equipment tender (not the infrastructure tender, which separate pre-market engagement will be undertaken for). If you wish to request a slot, please specify this when emailing.
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-069e5c
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/089196-2026
- Current Stage
- Tender
- All Stages
- Planning, Tender
Procurement Classification
- Notice Type
- UK4 - Tender Notice
- Procurement Type
- Standard
- Procurement Category
- Goods
- Procurement Method
- Selective
- Procurement Method Details
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Tender Suitability
- SME
- Awardee Scale
- Not specified
Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
- CPV Divisions
38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)
-
- CPV Codes
38115100 - Radar surveillance equipment
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- £25,000,000 £10M-£100M
- Lots Value
- £25,000,000 £10M-£100M
- Awards Value
- Not specified
- Contracts Value
- Not specified
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 21 Sep 2026Today
- Submission Deadline
- Not specified
- Future Notice Date
- 14 Sep 2026Expired
- Award Date
- Not specified
- Contract Period
- 1 Aug 2027 - 1 Aug 2030 3-4 years
- Recurrence
- Not specified
Notice Status
- Tender Status
- Active
- Lots Status
- Active
- Awards Status
- Not Specified
- Contracts Status
- Not Specified
Buyer & Supplier
Contracting Authority (Buyer)
- Main Buyer
- Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
- 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
- SW1A 2EG
- 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
-
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/089196-2026
21st September 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/089187-2026
21st September 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/089184-2026
21st September 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078126-2026
17th August 2026 - Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078124-2026
17th August 2026 - Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/073048-2026
3rd August 2026 - Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/047486-2026
22nd May 2026 - Pipeline notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/046751-2026
21st May 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Notice URLs
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