Land Ground Based Air Defence (Land GBAD) Programme – Market Interest Day 3

Introduction:

DE&S (Defence Equipment & Support) is pleased to announce a planned Market Interest Day (MID) for the Land Ground Based Air Defence (Land GBAD) Programme. The event will take place on Monday 2nd February 2026 in Bristol.

This will be the third Market Interest Day for the programme, following previous events held on 27th October 2022 and 22nd January 2024.

The purpose of this MID is to provide an update on the progress of the Land GBAD Programme and to offer Industry an opportunity to provide feedback.

The Land GBAD Programme was established in response to Army’s requirement for a fully integrated Air Defence system of systems. This will be an enduring capability that will be delivered through incremental capability uplifts over the next 10 years. The Single Statement of User Need (SSUN) for Land GBAD is:

“Land-GBAD must provide sufficient, effective capability to warn, inform, deter and defeat selected air threats (including aircraft, missiles, munitions, and UAS), in order to prevent adversary interference from the air inhibiting Joint Force freedom of manoeuvre.  Land-GBAD will provide lethal and non-lethal defeat mechanisms and minimise the risk it presents to friendly and neutral air users.  It will be deployable on multi-domain operations, integrated, scalable up to divisional level, and in joint and multi-national operations to Protect, Engage, Constrain and Fight”.

Capabilities to be delivered and enhanced by the Land GBAD programme include:

• Short-Range Air Defence (SHORAD);
• Medium-Range Air Defence (MRAD);
• Specialist Counter Uncrewed Air Systems (S-CUAS) for SHORAD and MRAD; and
• All Arms Counter Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (All Arms C-sUAS).

The capabilities which make up the Land GBAD System of Systems (SOS) will be incrementally procured and delivered through a number of related contracts over a 10-year period, these will require a high level of integration and SOS testing. Land GBAD will also consider novel weapons, where they are appropriately effective and sufficiently mature.

The following general conditions should be noted:

The Preliminary Market Engagement Notice does not formally signify the start of a procurement process, nor does it represent a commitment to undertake a procurement exercise. Instead, it is intended to help inform the development of requirements and contracting strategies. A formal procurement process will only commence upon the issuance of a Tender Notice.

Participation in the Market Interest Day and any associated activities is entirely voluntary. All costs incurred in attending in-person are the sole responsibility of the respondent.

The Authority will manage the process in an open and transparent manner, ensuring that participation or non-participation in the Preliminary Market Engagement will not give advantages or disadvantages to any supplier, nor impact their eligibility for future procurement processes.

All information provided by respondents shall be treated as commercially sensitive and not shared with any third parties.

Announcements will also be published on the Central Digital Platform (CDP)/Find a Tender and the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP).

The Authority intends to follow the principles of the new Procurement Act 2023.