---
title: "UK1 - Project OLCHAR"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-066483"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-066483"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066483.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066483.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE"
published: "2026-03-06"
---

# UK1 - Project OLCHAR

Buyer: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-066483

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[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066483.json)

## Summary

The Ministry of Defence is initiating preliminary market engagement for Project OLCHAR, aimed at developing a sovereign Fuzing System with an Electronic Safe & Arm Device (ESAD) for armed uncrewed systems. This procurement process falls under the category of 'goods' with a noteworthy projected value of £2,400,000. Potential suppliers need to act promptly, with key dates being 24th and 30th March 2026 for supplier engagement and completion of a request for information questionnaire, respectively. The process is currently in the planning stage, indicating the early phase before tender issuance, with anticipated procurement activities aligned with Dynamic Market Readiness Levels 1 and 2. Located in London at the Ministry of Defence's Main Building, the engagement provides an opportunity for suppliers to interact face-to-face, fostering direct communication about the requirements.

This tender opens substantial opportunities for businesses specialising in design and safety systems for defence applications, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs). With the Ministry aiming to retain full intellectual property rights, companies capable of providing innovative, platform-agnostic solutions are ideally positioned to benefit. Participating suppliers can leverage the procurement process to showcase their capability in contributing to advanced defence technology development. The dynamic market approach further encourages a competitive environment that may lead to future collaborations and contracts, promising growth for those involved in advanced electronic systems and safety technologies.

## Notice

The Authority is undertaking preliminary market engagement to understand and assess the availability and maturity of industry's capability of contributing to the development of a sovereign, safe by design Fuzing System incorporating an Electronic Safe & Arm Device (ESAD), intended for use across a range of armed uncrewed systems. The requirement concerns a common, platform agnostic safety and arming solution over which the Ministry of Defence will retain full intellectual property rights to enable future manufacture, modification and competitive integration.

### Planning Information

The Authority will conduct this preliminary market engagement through a combination of a request for information (RFI) questionnaire (which will be available until 17:00 30 March 2026) and a face to face supplier engagement session on 24 March 2026.
Suppliers wishing to attend the session must register via a Microsoft Forms registration link (https://forms.office.com/e/FsyzvHQcWb) by 17:00 19 March 2026. Attendance will be limited to two representatives per organisation. There are 16 spaces available for the in- person sessions. These will be allocated on a first come first served basis. The sessions will be 30 minutes long (max) and will be held at Army Headquarters. Suppliers that apply for the in-person sessions will be made aware of their timeslot by 12:00 20 March 2026. The questions and answers will be recorded from each session and, for complete openness and transparency, shall be made available via the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) Project OLCHAR Opportunity Listing as an attachment by 17:00 26 March 2026. Suppliers do not have to attend the session on the 18 March 2026 in order to submit a response.
To respond to this notice, please complete the below linked MS Forms questionnaire by 17:00 30 March 2026. 
https://forms.office.com/e/GudffESMNy
Participation is voluntary and does not form part of any future competition. Responses will be reviewed to identify areas of clarity, challenge and potential flexibility within the emerging requirement, and the Authority may seek clarification from respondents where appropriate. Supporting material is available for download through the Project OLCHAR DSP opportunity listing, including further detail on the emerging requirement.
Suppliers should note that any subsequent procurement activity may be conducted via the Commercial X Dynamic Market, and organisations interested in future participation are encouraged to register and familiarise themselves with the applicable Dynamic Market Readiness Levels (DRLs). It is anticipated that this requirement will fall within the DRLs 1 and 2. 
Applications to the Dynamic Market need to be completed on the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) https://contracts.mod.uk/esop/ogc-host/public/mod/web/login.html.
1. On the home page, click 'view DSP opportunities'
2. make sure you’re in the 'current opportunities tab'
3. click the 'filters' drop down and select 'project info'
4. in the 'value' field type 'commercial x' and click 'search'
You should be able to access the ‘PQQ’ event that we are using for the applications. There is also downloadable content available in the opportunity listing providing further information about the Dynamic Market.
To complete applications you need to have a profile completed on the Central Digital Platform (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search) so that you can share your company details as part of the application process.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020551-2026 |
| 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, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 6 Mar 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 1 Apr 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 29 Apr 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £2,000,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planned |
| Lots status | Planned |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | MINISTRY OF DEFENCE |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1A 2EU |
| 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 |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 22 - Printed matter and related products

### Codes

- 22314000 - Designs

## Release History

- 6 Mar 2026 at 15:36 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020551-2026
- 6 Mar 2026 at 15:35 - Planning - UK1 - Pipeline Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020547-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020551-2026
  6th March 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020547-2026
  6th March 2026 - Pipeline notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://contracts.mod.uk/esop/ogc-host/public/mod/web/login.html
- https://forms.office.com/e/FsyzvHQcWb
- https://forms.office.com/e/GudffESMNy
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence
- 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-066483. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066483.json.