---
title: "BVLOS Drone Operationalisation"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-051f03"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-051f03"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-051f03.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-051f03.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION PLC"
published: "2025-07-08"
---

# BVLOS Drone Operationalisation

Buyer: NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION PLC  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-051f03

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[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-051f03.json)

## Summary

National Grid Electricity Transmission PLC has completed a significant contract award for the "BVLOS Drone Operationalisation" project, aimed at advancing autonomous drone capabilities for its network. Situated in London, this private utility organisation has directly contracted SEESAI LIMITED, an SME based in Chichester, United Kingdom, under the procurement method of direct award due to the absence of competition and the specialised technical requirements involved. The procurement stage is the award phase, concluded recently in July 2025, with the project's operational start expected the same month and initially running until March 2026. This contract, valued at £22,950,000, is within the services category and highlights the unique requirement for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations across the NGET network. The legal framework guiding this procurement is the Procurement Act 2023, recognising the need for a singular supplier due to technical complexities and safety authorizations from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

This tender marks a notable opportunity for businesses involved in advanced drone technology, especially those with a focus on network inspection and management services. Companies like SEESAI LIMITED, with deep technical expertise and the ability to meet complex operational security requirements, are exceptionally well-suited for such projects. The procurement's emphasis on specialised operational methodologies and advanced proprietary technologies—along with the option for extending the contract based on performance and market factors—provides a sustainable growth avenue for SMEs looking to expand their footprint in high-technology services for critical utility infrastructures. The direct award nature of the process underscores the importance of developing unique capabilities that meet stringent industry standards, offering a competitive edge in securing future contracts.

## Notice

Continued development of an autonomous drone capability to scale routine BVLOS operations across the NGET network.

### Procurement Information

Competition is absent for technical reasons and there are no reasonable alternatives (Procurement Act 2023, Schedule 5, paragraph 6): Through extensive work with National Grid since 2021, sees.ai has developed a distinct operational capability for conducting closequarter, detailed Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) inspection missions on live transmission network assets from a remote location, including extended transits and the use of advanced communications links. As of May 2025, we understand Sees.ai to be the only company holding the specific and advanced Operational Authorisation from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)) required to deploy an exclusive capability critical for the delivery of National Grid's specific, advanced network inspection requirements. Operationalisation of this capability is enabled by continuation of joint intellectual property (IP) rights development; advanced proprietary technology; unique operational methodologies; and specialised in-house expertise, cultivated since 2018. National Grid undertakes Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) network asset inspections internally. Other inspection methodologies do not meet National Grid's complex and evolving demands for routine, scalable, and data-rich network oversight. The technical complexity and demonstrated operational safety maturity required by the CAA for the issue of the requisite Operational Authorisation to deliver this work establishes a high technical barrier, resulting in an absence of competition from other third-party suppliers. There are no other reasonable alternatives to Sees.ai currently offering a service of directly comparable scope, precision, safety, or operational efficiency; nor has it been demonstrated to the CAA the critical technical infrastructure, proven methodology, and requisite safety case to meet the standards for obtaining authorisation to carry out this work.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038390-2025 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 8 Jul 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 21 May 2025 |
| Contract period | 7 Jul 2025 - 31 Mar 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £22,950,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION PLC |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | Central London |
| Postcode | WC2N 5EH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | SEESAI |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73100000 - Research and experimental development services

## Release History

- 8 Jul 2025 at 16:06 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038390-2025
- 22 May 2025 at 15:14 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025236-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038390-2025
  8th July 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025236-2025
  22nd May 2025 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-h6vhtk-051f03. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-051f03.json.