UK Public Sector Contracts & Tenders

Further to the previous market exploration for High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) Medical Evacuation (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/market-exploration-high-consequence-infectious-disease-medical-evacuation) conducted in 2021, the Ministry of Defence through UK Defence Innovation is running a request for information from industry in order to develop the understanding of the market for Air Transportable Isolators (ATIs). This pre-market engagement seeks to: • Verify if information received from previous engagement is still valid; • Determine if there is sufficient market capability, capacity and interest; • Identify suppliers who have an existing ATI product / have a design for an ATI product that requires development; • Assist in understanding if the existing requirements are feasible; • Provide key information in supporting the approach to any future procurement, including designing an effective competitive procedure. This does not act as pre-qualification, and nothing submitted in this engagement will limit the opportunity to engage in any follow-on procurement process. The Deployable Air Isolator Team (DAIT), is a joint Department of Health and Social Care and MOD asset to transport patients with suspected or confirmed High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID). The current ATI provides the capability for global strategic Aeromedical Evacuation (AE) of a patient with a HCID. Defence requires a resilient, assured and interoperable next-generation Strategic ATI to maintain interoperability with NHS, improve and update military equipment and to enhance supply chain resilience. This will provide Global Strategic Aeromedical Evacuation from Point of Injury/Illness back to UK NHS High Level Isolation Units (HLIU), including permissive and austere environments. The following are the overarching requirements, which are subject to change: • Threat context –HCID (Definitions include: UKHSA, WHO, Level 4 biological threats, and novel/unidentified pathogens) requiring full isolation, including airborne, droplet and contact transmission risks to aircrew, medical personnel, aircraft and population. • Platform / domain – current Royal Air Force strategic fixed wing aircraft (with potential for future airframes and NATO partner platforms) with onward ground transfer via specialist ambulatory systems. • Key metric 1 - Full containment of HCID (Level 4) pathogens (airborne/contact) throughout transfer. • Key metric 2 - Achieve Release to Service and certified airworthiness on current and future strategic AE platforms. • Key metric 3 - Enable full clinical care including operation of ventilators, monitors, and other Electrical Medical Equipment. • Key metric 4 - Enable seamless end-to-end patient transfer from aircraft to NHS HLIU. • Key metric 5 - Sustain independent operation for minimum 48 hours. Please note that at this stage the funding and timescales are not approved and are very rough estimates.

The Ministry of Defence (the Authority) is exploring the market for a deployable capability that would allow users to handle information securely while operating at sea for extended periods, and to share information securely between deployed and shore-based users. Existing arrangements provide limited capacity at sea. The Authority is interested in solutions that are readily deployable through standardised freight transport (air, land and sea) and can be procured with an ongoing maintenance, training and in-service support solution package. The Authority is also interested in suppliers who could provide all or part of such a solution and supports collaborative working with other suppliers to jointly develop a solution, together with appetite and capability for development.  Areas of interest include secure marinised deployable or modular workspaces (e.g. containers), IT and communications integration, secure data transfer (including hardware and software), in-service support, and the design, demonstration and Secure by Design process for such a capability. This notice opens a staged engagement. Suppliers who register an interest and meet the access conditions below will receive a Request for Information marked OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE, followed by a clarification period and an industry day. The Authority will use responses to refine its requirement, its commercial strategy and its delivery plan before any competition. This notice is issued for preliminary market engagement only. It is not a call for competition, an invitation to tender or a commitment to procure. Participation is voluntary and at the supplier's own cost; responses are not scored. Any competition will be conducted under a separately published tender notice and will be open to all suppliers meeting its published conditions of participation, whether or not they took part in this engagement. The Authority anticipates a competitive flexible procedure under the Procurement Act 2023, subject to approval, and is considering whether a paid development stage may form part of that procedure.

The Authority is undertaking Preliminary Market Engagement to understand the availability, maturity and feasibility of Satellite Communications (SATCOM) provide secure Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLoS) connectivity for Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations, enabling data exchange between the UAV and ground-based operators.   This activity is conducted in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 (Sections 16–17) and is for information gathering only. It does not form part of a formal tendering process and will not be used for supplier selection or down‑selection. Participation is voluntary.  All communication related to this notice and form submission is at OFFICIAL.    Suppliers are invited to complete the following questionnaire to provide information on system capabilities, performance, navigation, deployment, interoperability, compliance, supportability and indicative commercial structures.    By submitting a response, suppliers confirm that all information provided is, to the best of their knowledge, true, complete and accurate.    The Authority may invite suppliers to follow‑on discussions where appropriate. Any future procurement activity will be conducted as a separate procurement process.

This Request for Information (RFI) seeks market feedback following the Authority’s market-engagement event on 8 October 2026. Responses will inform the procurement strategy, commercial model and Statements of Requirements for both procurements, with the aim of supporting effective competition and value for money

The Royal Navy is inviting organisations to register their interest in preliminary market engagement for the Type 93 and AUKUS Signature Payload Programme. The Royal Navy seeks to improve its understanding of the market and wider ecosystem for Extra-Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (XLUUV) platforms, associated payloads, and enabling functions. This activity supports the development of the Type 93 capability and the Royal Navy’s commitments under the AUKUS Pillar II Signature Project. The purpose of the registration of interest is to gather a comprehensive list of interested suppliers for XLUUV market segments and the wider ecosystem. This includes, but is not limited to: XLUUV platform providers, payload providers, relevant technology and software suppliers including Autonomy, AI and Mission Management Systems, integrators, through-life support providers, and other relevant suppliers. Suppliers who register their interest through this notice may be invited to participate in subsequent preliminary market engagement activities, including but not limited to, collaborative workshops, 1:1 meetings, industry days, and written requests for information (RFIs). Responses will be used to inform requirements development, and future market engagement and wider programme planning. The Royal Navy is initially considering platforms approximately 2 metres in diameter and 12 metres in length, however organisations offering platforms of other dimensions are also encouraged to register. This notice should not be considered as a commitment from the Royal Navy to progress with any future procurement activities. The programme directly aligns with the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), Defence Investment Plan (DIP) and AUKUS Pillar II priorities, supporting the transition to a Hybrid Navy through the integration of autonomous and uncrewed maritime capabilities. The value of £1 and contract duration of 12 months should be regarded as nominal and will be updated via future notice(s) as the programme progresses, figures and dates mature, and are subsequently confirmed.

CSM Service Management tooling and implementation

The Authority is exploring options for the future support to the delivery of its recruitment and talent-related services. The future service is intended to support flexible, specialist and often lower volume recruitment and talent requirements across Defence

The Ministry of Defence, acting through the British Forces Post Office (BFPO), intends to procure a comprehensive global mail conveyance service to support the delivery and return of Forces mail and courier services worldwide. BFPO's mission is to provide an efficient, effective and resilient postal and courier service in order to sustain the fighting power of UK Armed Forces worldwide. BFPO delivers postal services to Service Personnel, Defence Civil Servants and entitled family members located across the globe through a combination of military and commercial transportation networks. The Authority is considering a requirement that may include some or all of the following service elements: Scheduled Worldwide Mail Conveyance International inbound and outbound mail conveyance services. Freight forwarding through commercial air carriers and express courier networks. Customs management and associated documentation. Provision of tracking and tracing services. Non-Scheduled (Ad Hoc) Worldwide Mail Conveyance Urgent and operational mail movements. Support to HM Ships and deployed military operations. Flexible worldwide collection and delivery capability. Airport Road Trunking Routine movement of mail between BFPO Headquarters and designated airport cargo facilities. Handling, storage and secure transportation of military mail consignments. UK Road Trunking Collection and delivery services between BFPO, Royal Mail facilities, RAF Brize Norton and other Defence locations. Provision of suitable vehicles, drivers and associated operational support. Witness Loading and Specialist Freight Forwarding Services Support for secure international movement of designated consignments. Airport handling and customs liaison activities. Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) Filing Services Submission and management of customs declarations and associated regulatory requirements. Support for BFPO requirements relating to the movement of mail into EU territories. Key Requirements Potential suppliers should be capable of demonstrating: Proven experience in international freight forwarding, mail conveyance or logistics services. Access to worldwide transportation networks. Appropriate aviation, freight forwarding and customs accreditations. Robust track and trace capabilities. Ability to operate within secure and sensitive government environments. Compliance with all applicable UK transport, customs, security and health and safety legislation. Business continuity and resilience arrangements capable of supporting operational military requirements. Experience supporting public sector or defence customers is desirable.

The Defence AI Model Arena is opening a new competition for suppliers developing computer vision (CV) capability relevant to UK Defence; this use case is sponsored by the Rapid AI Delivery Taskforce (Taskforce RAID). We are looking for suppliers who can demonstrate strong model performance against a military object detection use case and who are interested in working collaboratively with Defence to improve that capability using representative data and feedback from live exercise activity. The competition will use the Model Arena’s “demonstration by doing” approach: suppliers will be assessed on how their models actually perform against the use case, rather than on written proposals alone. The use case is to develop and deploy the CV – based components for autonomous drones in the land domain, operating within an AI enabled drone swarming system. This phase is focused on establishing an effective baseline for experimentation and iterative deployment. The intention is to evolve this capability and implement other sensing-specific AI domains and multiple layers of decision-making behaviour; any potential successful supplier would be a core component of an industry co-creation ecosystem. Why take part: - The Model Arena gives suppliers an opportunity to demonstrate capability directly against a real Defence requirement and receive evidence-based feedback on model performance. - For suppliers progressing to Stage 2, it also provides an opportunity to work much more closely with the Defence user community, understand the operational problem in greater depth and develop capability using increasingly representative data. - For successful suppliers selected for Stage 3, it provides the ability to rapidly develop models and demonstrate suitability for continued co-creation. - The intent is to create a level playing field for suppliers while helping Defence identify the strongest technical solutions and teams for continued development. We will hold a supplier drop-in session on: Wed 9 Sep 2026 at 13:00. Sign Up: DAIC Model Arena AI Enabled Swarming - https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=7WB3vlNZS0iuldChbfoJ5QJeL8KOb3JCg77bbCuH5XFURDg2Q0NNTlk0SEkwOTBPNkdCS0hFT0YyWi4u&route=shorturl The session will provide more detail on: 1. The use case. 2. Stage 1 dataset and evaluation approach. 3. Technical submission requirements. 4. The Stage 2 co-creation activity. 5. Commercial; and 6. Supplier questions. Suppliers considering entering the competition are strongly encouraged to attend. Please note the session will be recorded and made available on request. Indicative Key Dates: - 9 September 2026 - Supplier drop-in session - 16 September - Stage 1 begins (Suppliers MUST be registered on both the Model Arena and Commercial X dynamic Market – details on how to register are contained within this notice) - 11 October - Stage 1 Concludes - 14 October - Stage 2 begins - 30 October - Stage 2 concludes. Evaluations Begin. - Early 2027 - Stage 3