Tactical Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Managed Service

The Home Office seeks an experienced commercial provider to supply capable Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) to support the Border Security Command's (BSC) Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations.
The RPAS must be capable of detecting, identifying, and tracking vessels and individuals within the defined area of operations, operating as part of a multi layered ISR framework that includes manned aviation, maritime assets, and land based infrastructure. The systems will provide enhanced situational awareness to inform operational decision making and support the effective tasking and coordination of operational assets.
The primary operational requirement is for RPAS' that can conduct routine surveillance flights to detect, track, and identify vessels and people to support the primary Search, Rescue and Recovery (SRR) Vessels within the area of operations.
The SRR vessels will operate primarily within UK Territorial Waters (TTW) and the wider UK Area of Operations, including the English Channel.
RPAS' information will be transmitted in real-time to an existing Command and Control facility to enable real-time coordination of responses to threats.
RPAS' will also be required to perform targeted surveillance to record high-quality video footage to support Criminal and Financial Investigation (CFI) prosecutions.
The Home Office have a requirement for one (1) Supplier to provide RPAS' for 5000 on-task sensor coverage hours per year, over three (3) separate task lines, for the purpose of supporting BSC operations.
The Home Office requires availability of two (2) task lines to provide year-round coverage including weekends and public holidays. An additional third task line will be required for approximately six-months per year.
The contract will be for three (3) years fixed with a possible plus one (1) year extension, if mutually agreed at the time by both parties.
There is a requirement for the service to be fully operational within four months of the contract being awarded (Contract Award will be on/or before 30th November 2026). There will be an expected mobilisation period starting on the 01st of December 2026

Estimated date of publication of contract notice: 2026-05-01T23:59:59+01:00
Engagement process description
Border Security Command require a supplier who can provide this as a managed service to meet an aspirational award date of 12/2026.
Suppliers will need to register in the first instance on the Authority's eSourcing portal - https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html
Following from the Prior Information Notice issued in February 2026 (Notice identifier: 2026/S 000-009787) , the Authority would like to engage with suppliers, to determine the level of interest, capacity and capability to meet the requirements. To do this, they would like to invite interested suppliers to an Industry Day event, where the Authority will outline their requirements and provide further information on the procurement process.
The Industry Day is scheduled to take place on 2nd April, and will be conducted via Microsoft Teams. The event is expected to last for half a day, however this will be confirmed within the placeholder that will be issued. Please note, that this may be subject to change.
This market engagement and any subsequent activity is for information gathering purposes only, and has no impact on selection or the invitation to tender stage. It is important to note that this PIN is not a call for competition and as such potential providers will need to express an interest in any future tender opportunity once a notice is published.
It should also be noted that this PIN invites individuals and organisations to express an interest in this market engagement exercise only. It is not a pre-qualification questionnaire and is not part of any pre-qualification or selection process.
To express an interest in this market engagement, participants are requested to send an expression of interest to Katey.Young4@homeoffice.gov.uk by 31st March 2026. The subject title of the email should read Tactical Airborne - Expression of Interest, and the email should confirm your organisation's name, one contact name, one e-mail address and one telephone number. These contact details must be those used to register on the Home Office e-Sourcing Portal on Jaggaer.
Following expressions of interest suppliers will be given access to the event on the Authority's eSourcing portal, where they will be issued with a Non-Disclosure Agreement, to be signed and returned to the Authority, via the eSourcing portal. Once received, the Industry Event meeting invite will be issued out to the Supplier.
Please note, the contact details provided by interested suppliers at the point of expression of interest will also be used to accept/verify their attendance for this MS Teams webinar engagement event. It may be required to limit Supplier attendance to two (2) representatives from each organisation, however this will be confirmed in due course.
The content of this PIN, including the nature of works, services and estimated value, may be subject to change. This PIN has been published twice, one under Public Contract Regulations (PCR2015) and one under the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23).

Lot: 1
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes

Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: En