Official UK procurement notice
Provision of NATS Services
Authority: Defence Equipment and Support (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Air Traffic Management Team (ATMT) in Sense, Decide & Communicate (SDC), part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), intends to award a contract to NATS En Route PLC (NERL) for the provision of air traffic data, distress and diversion cell infrastructure, connectivity services and installation (Air Traffic Requirements).
The direct Framework contract will be for a term of 3 years with the option to extend for one year and has an estimated value of £900,000 (inclusive of VAT).
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Supplier levy on call-offs (max %)
- No further fees
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Awarded
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 13 Oct 2026, 09:08 BST
- Last source update
- 15 Oct 2026, 08:10 BST
- Authority reference
ATMT 001- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-097249- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078627Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
- Published justification
It is considered that this contract can be awarded under Section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 because the direct award justification specified in paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 (single supplier – technical reasons) applies.
This is because NERL is the only supplier of the Air Traffic Requirements in the UK, provision of which will require updating connections to a site owned by NERL. There are no reasonable alternatives.
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
- Supplier levy on call-offs (max %)
- call-off levy · No further fees
Timeline
15 Oct 2026 → 26 Oct 2026 · 2 dates- Notice published6 days ago15 Oct 2026, 08:10 BST
- Today20 Oct 2026
- Standstill endsin 6 days26 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 13 Oct 2026- Transparency notice published13 Oct 2026, 09:08 BSTUK5
- Contract award notice published15 Oct 2026, 08:10 BSTUK6
- Contract signature expected27 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| NATS (En Route) plcATMT 001 Provision of NATS Services27 Oct 2026 – 30 Sept 2029 | £720,000 | 15 Oct 2026standstill to 26 Oct 2026 | Standstill |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Framework contractors & participating bidders
1 commercial party on the notice- NATS (En Route) PLCFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender