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PRN004664 Underwater Drones

Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire Authority

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

05 Oct 2026 at 11:46

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire Authority, through Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, is exploring underwater drones and related technologies, products and services for surface-based subsurface search, identification and recovery. The equipment is intended to help locate and recover submerged casualties and objects across a range of water environments, supporting firefighter safety and operational effectiveness. The requirement is for goods, including unmanned underwater vehicles and rescue equipment. The procurement is at the planning stage, and the service is using preliminary market engagement to understand what solutions the market can offer before it develops the requirement further.

This is preliminary market engagement during planning, not an invitation to tender. The buyer expects to publish a future notice by 31 December 2026. The engagement exercise is scheduled through 16 October 2026; this is an engagement date, not a bid deadline. The estimated value is £100,000 excluding VAT (£120,000 including VAT). The planned contract period runs from 4 January 2027 to 3 January 2031, with a possible extension taking it to 2 January 2032. The procurement is described as one lot and is marked as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. No procurement procedure or evaluation basis is set out at this planning stage.

The engagement is relevant to suppliers of underwater drones, unmanned underwater vehicles, rescue and emergency equipment, and technologies or services for underwater search, identification and recovery. Small and medium-sized businesses are expressly considered suitable. Suppliers with solutions that can support operations across different water environments, locate submerged casualties or objects, and assist with recovery are well placed to contribute useful market knowledge. The buyer is seeking to understand available technologies, products and services, and is interested in approaches that could improve firefighter safety and operational effectiveness. This is an opportunity to inform the development of a future requirement, rather than to compete for a contract now. No particular accreditation, technical standard or minimum delivery capacity is stated.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

PRN004664 Underwater Drones

Notice Description

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) would like to notify you of an upcoming requirement, and by doing so we are keen to widen our understanding and knowledge of the market. NFRS is conducting a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise to better understand the technologies, products and services currently available within the market that could support surface-based subsurface search, identification and recovery operations. This engagement forms part of NFRS's ongoing commitment to improving firefighter safety, enhancing operational effectiveness and exploring innovative methods of locating, identifying and recovering submerged casualties and objects in a range of water environments. This PME is being undertaken via the NFRS e-procurement portal In-Tend. In order to respond to this PME, please express an interest and download the documents. All responses and queries/ question must be made via the portal available via the following link: https://supplier.in-tend.co.uk/notts-fire/home

Planning Information

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) would like to notify you of an upcoming requirement, and by doing so we are keen to widen our understanding and knowledge of the market. NFRS is conducting a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise to better understand the technologies, products and services currently available within the market that could support surface-based subsurface search, identification and recovery operations. This engagement forms part of NFRS's ongoing commitment to improving firefighter safety, enhancing operational effectiveness and exploring innovative methods of locating, identifying and recovering submerged casualties and objects in a range of water environments. This PME is being undertaken via the NFRS e-procurement portal In-Tend. In order to respond to this PME, please express an interest and download the documents. All responses and queries/ question must be made via the portal available via the following link: https://supplier.in-tend.co.uk/notts-fire/home

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-078094
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093734-2026
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
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

35110000 - Firefighting, rescue and safety equipment

35112000 - Rescue and emergency equipment

35512400 - Unmanned underwater vehicles

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£100,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
5 Oct 2026Yesterday
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
31 Dec 20263 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
4 Jan 2027 - 3 Jan 2031 4-5 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
Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire Authority
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
NOTTINGHAM
Postcode
NG5 8PP
Postcode Area
Nottingham
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLF East Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLF1 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLF16 South Nottinghamshire
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Gedling
Electoral Ward
Calverton
Westminster Constituency
Sherwood Forest

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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