Official UK procurement notice
715855513 - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement
Authority: Defence Equipment and Support
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionSpace portfolio and ISTARI Industry Day – Monday 29th June
This industry day will be delivering an update on the National Armament Directive’s (NAD’s) Space portfolio landscape, providing an overview of the planned work and developments within the organisation’s purview across all Space Capabilities.
The day will also specifically focus on ISTARI (Space Based Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance) Industry Day and include a briefing from the Authority to Industry, aimed at providing an up-to-date report on the scope, vision and context status for the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) ISTARI programme.
ISTARI is the overarching programme initiated to deliver the UK’s Space Based – Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (SB-ISR) end-to-end requirements. ISTARI will cohere, integrate and adopt various Operational Concept Demonstrators (OCDs) to deliver an ‘in-service’ ISR capability under one programme, delivering UK sovereign, Defence-controlled, continual, resilient, timely, pervasive, and flexible observations across the globe, augmenting capabilities owned and developed by key allies.
Following previous briefings and announcements, this Industry Day will endeavour to contextualise the Authority’s requirements and objectives in the aftermath of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), creating a forum in which to collaborate and engage on various aspects of ISTARI, offering valuable insight and an opportunity to introduce or reacquaint yourselves with the various stakeholders aligned to this programme.
In addition to this, we also welcome a guest speaker from the Government Commercial Agency (GCA) (formerly Crown Commercial Service), who will enlighten attendees on the nascent Space Technology Solutions Dynamic Market (STS DM) (RM6370). The STS DM aims to unlock opportunity through increased flexibility and enhanced commercial mechanisms inherent to the PA23 regulations. As a key stakeholder in its design and implementation, the STS DM has been specifically created as the team’s primary route to market and acts as an evolutionary successor to the Space-Enabled and Geospatial Services Framework (RM6235).
CPV: Administration, defence and social security services · Aerial mapping services · Aerial photography services · Aircraft and spacecraft · Aircraft or spacecraft equipment, trainers, simulators and associated parts · Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services · Backup or recovery software development services · Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security · Clocks · Command, control, communication and computer systems · Computer equipment and supplies · Construction work · +62 more
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Planned
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Defence Equipment and Support buys Passenger cars (CPV 3411), and who usually turns up
Defence Equipment and Support’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Passenger cars (CPV 3411) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.
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How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 54 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid52% / 15%
2–333% / 31%
4–610% / 46%
7+5% / 8%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate43% / 36%
Within ±2%36% / 36%
Above estimate21% / 29%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7221Published estimate£800m
This lot is listed as CPV 7221. The table above uses the notice category.
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 80 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid10%
2–323%
4–628%
7+40%
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Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNILODE AVIATION SOLUTIONS UK LIMITEDEarlier contract | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagementstarted Mar 2026 | Supply and Repair of Unit Load Devices for the Voyager Delivery Team | £235k | Matched as the earlier contract |
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
77% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
77% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (77% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement — held by UNILODE AVIATION SOLUTIONS UK LIMITED; no contract end date published.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Defence & security
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 1 May 2026, 15:46 BST
- Last source update
- 1 May 2026, 15:46 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-040676- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06909cFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
1 May 2026 → 2 Aug 2027 · 3 dates- Planning notice published176 days ago1 May 2026, 15:46 BST
- Market engagement141 days ago5 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
The ISTARI Industry Day is to be held on Monday 29th June at the MoD Abbey Wood, Bristol, BS34 8JH
All subsequent procurement following this Preliminary Market Engagement (EME) notice is at the discretion of the MoD and subject to approvals. Any further updates regarding future activity will be made through the appropriate advertising channels.
Attendance is ‘in-person only’. Unfortunately, due to limited capacity, we need to cap attendance to two representatives per organisation.
The session will commence at 1030hrs, and it is advised to arrive on-site no later than 0930hrs to ensure sufficient time to pass through security. We aim to conclude the event by 1600hrs.
Delegate registration will be conducted on a ‘first come, first-served basis’, and as this event has been classified as Official Sensitive, attendance will be subject to possession of the appropriate Security Clearance (BPSS as a minimum).
The deadline to register your interest is Friday 05 June, or once room capacity is reached, whichever is the sooner.
Should your organisation wish to attend the ISTARI Industry Day please contact the following email address register your interest: [email protected], disclosing the following information:
For UK SC Clearance Holders:
Please provide the following details:
- Full Name (First Name and Surname)
- Date of Birth
- Email Address
- Organisation Name
- National Insurance Number
For BPSS or National Equivalent Holders:
Please provide a copy of your Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) verification record or your national equivalent. This will confirm that the necessary checks have been completed by your organisation.
Once your security clearance has been validated, we will notify you and add you to the attendance list.
For Non-UK SC Clearance Holders:
Please provide proof of national equivalent SC, this should include official certification or documentation from your country’s Security Team or your organisation’s Vetting/Security Team confirming your SC status.
All individuals registering interest must hold either SC clearance or BPSS (Baseline Personnel Security Standard), for further details please refer to - Government baseline personnel security standard - GOV.UK. www.gov.uk/government/publicati… ↗
- Today24 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 281 days2 Aug 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published1 May 2026, 15:46 BSTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender