---
title: "Project CAESAR"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-6f96edd7-1bd4-406f-9ab3-990507889cd5"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-6f96edd7-1bd4-406f-9ab3-990507889cd5"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6f96edd7-1bd4-406f-9ab3-990507889cd5.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6f96edd7-1bd4-406f-9ab3-990507889cd5.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "MCA - MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY"
published: "2025-04-01"
---

# Project CAESAR

Buyer: MCA - MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-6f96edd7-1bd4-406f-9ab3-990507889cd5

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## Summary

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has awarded an extension of the Project CAESAR contract to Bristow Helicopters Limited. This contract, initiated in March 2022 to address rising emergencies in the English Channel due to small boat crossings, is critical in providing air-sea rescue services. The service combines fixed-wing unmanned aircraft with surface assets to effectively identify and rescue vessels in distress. The current contract is set to end in February 2025, and a one-year extension will be implemented to continue operations until 2026, providing ample time for MCA to address capability gaps and partner with other government entities. The procurement value is £11,000,000, and it falls under the industry category of air-sea rescue services in the South East region of the United Kingdom with key dates including a tender period end date on 1 November 2024.

This extension offers significant opportunities for large-scale aerospace and avionics companies capable of providing advanced surveillance technologies and efficient air-sea rescue operations. The contract's high value and the critical nature of the services required make it suitable for specialised providers with robust operational capabilities and innovative solutions in unmanned aerial systems and emergency response technologies. Business growth can be achieved through this tender by leveraging expertise in high-stakes, mission-critical services, thereby meeting the pressing national demand and contributing to public safety advancements.

## Notice

The Channel Aviation Emergency Search and Rescue (CAESAR) contract was implemented in March 2022, at pace, to respond to the rising emergency in the English Channel caused by small boat crossings. The service provides a combination of fixed wing unmanned aircraft to provide a multi-layered operational picture over the Channel which allows His Majestys Coastguard (HMCG), and other Government operators, to identify vessels in the Channel, and then determine those vessels at most need of rescue in order to prioritise available surface assets and prevent deaths. CAESAR was implemented as a dedicated Channel capability, under the existing UK Search and Rescue Helicopter (UKSARH) service provision, freeing the MCAs Air Surveillance and Verification service, which had been providing a stop-gap interim service, to return to delivering the role it was designed for, whilst providing a structured service which better meet the operational need of HMCG in the English Channel. The UK Second Generation Search and Rescue Aviation programme (UKSAR2G), which will subsume both current Search and Rescue Helicopter and fixed wing Air Surveillance and Verification contracts, will come into effect between October 2024 and December 2026. However, since the incident data used to inform the UKSAR2G service was based on data up to the end of 2019, and small boat crossings have risen since that data, the data used to inform the UKSAR2G procurement is not reflective of the current demand in the Channel; UKSAR2G service provision cannot meet the national requirement and address the demand in the Channel. The MCA has commissioned data analysis to test the UKSAR2G model against a more up to date data set (up until the end of 2023), which indicated that the UKSAR2G service cannot also meet the current increased Channel demand. While further work is required to understand how best to quantify and mitigate the shortfall, there remains a pressing and immediate need to ensure that HM Coastguard is sufficiently resourced to respond to incidents in the Channel. With the current CAESAR contract due to conclude in February 2025, and the need to provide Bristow Helicopters with 4 months-notice of a contract extension, the only achievable and responsible course of action which meets the needs of the MCA is to extend the service as is. A one-year extension will provide time for the MCA to explore the options available with the UKSAR2G service to address any capability gap, in partnership with other Government delivery partners, to ensure the MCA has a cohesive and enduring capability to meet the aerial search and rescue demand of the UK under a single contracted service. The MCA continues to modify the UKSARH contract pursuant to Regulation 72 (1) (c), on the basis that the need for modification has been brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/020f33a0-c25a-45e0-8ce0-474cce0ac3b0 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Other - Contract Extension to the Current Provision for UKSARH |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 1 Apr 2025 |
| Submission deadline | 1 Nov 2024 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 1 Nov 2024 |
| Contract period | 1 Mar 2025 - 28 Feb 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £11,000,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £8,404,500 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | MCA - MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY |
| Locality | SOUTHAMPTON |
| Post town | Southampton |
| Postcode | SO15 1EG |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ3 Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| ITL 3 | TLJ32 Southampton |
| Local authority | Southampton |
| Electoral ward | Banister & Polygon |
| Westminster constituency | Southampton Itchen |
| Delivery location | TLJ South East (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | BRISTOW HELICOPTERS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

### Codes

- 60443100 - Air-sea rescue services

## Release History

- 1 Apr 2025 at 12:15 - AwardUpdate - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/020f33a0-c25a-45e0-8ce0-474cce0ac3b0
- 22 Nov 2024 at 09:15 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/020f33a0-c25a-45e0-8ce0-474cce0ac3b0

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/020f33a0-c25a-45e0-8ce0-474cce0ac3b0
  1st April 2025 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder

## Notice URLs

- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-6f96edd7-1bd4-406f-9ab3-990507889cd5. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6f96edd7-1bd4-406f-9ab3-990507889cd5.json.