Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 28 Sept 2026, 17:41 BST

Official UK procurement notice

UK2 - Deployable Maritime Secure Analysis Capability – Preliminary Market Engagement

Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)

GoodsAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Budget not disclosed£1≈ £1 / year · £1 inc. VAT
Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice
Contract term 1 yrstarts 1 Apr 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

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.

Read the full description (641 more characters)

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.

CPV: IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment · Special-purpose mobile containers

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Lot 1Planned 1 yrSMEVCSE
Contract period: 1 Apr 2027 — 1 Apr 2028 (1 yr)Eligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
32000000 Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment34221000 Special-purpose mobile containers72000000 IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

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
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
28 Sept 2026, 17:41 BST
Last source update
28 Sept 2026, 17:41 BST
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and supportRadio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipmentSpecial-purpose mobile containers
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077be7

How it was run

Submission deadline
—

Timeline

3 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Planning notice publishedearlier today
    28 Sept 2026, 17:39 BST
  2. Market engagementin 18 days
    16 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
    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 more…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. To receive the RFI a supplier must submit the expression of interest described below and provide sufficient information to allow the Authority to verify: (a) its legal identity and that it is not excluded from public contracts; (b) its ownership; (c) its relevance to at least one area of interest in this notice; (d) its ability to contract with the Authority; and (e) its acknowledgement that the RFI is marked OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE and will be handled on a need-to-know basis in accordance with the handling instructions issued with it. Registration on the Defence Sourcing Portal is required. These checks control access to the RFI only; they are not a procurement evaluation or pre-qualification for any future competition. Facility Security Clearance is not required to receive the RFI. Overseas suppliers may take part provided they can contract with the Authority and comply with the handling conditions. Questions about this form: If you have a question that is necessary to complete this Expression of Interest form, please submit it to MARDEL <[email protected]> At this stage, the Authority will only respond to questions that relate directly to completion of this form. Wider questions about the requirement, technical solution, scope, delivery model, commercial model, access arrangements or potential procurement process will not be answered at this stage. Further requirement-related clarification will be reserved for suppliers invited to participate in the subsequent RFI stage. Registration on the Defence Sourcing Portal is required. These checks control access to the RFI only; they are not a procurement evaluation or pre-qualification for any future competition. Facility Security Clearance is not required to receive the RFI. Overseas suppliers may take part provided they can contract with the Authority and comply with the handling conditions. Notice published: Monday 28th September 2026. Expressions of interest requested by: Friday 16th October 2026. RFI issued to suppliers meeting the access conditions, no later than COP Wednesday 21st October 2026. Industry day: Indicative date of early November 2026 (Date TBC). RFI responses due: Indicative date of November 2026 (Date TBC). Suppliers are requested to complete the below expression-of-interest MS Form by Friday 16th October 2026. Thirty-nine questions; no proposals, prices or classified material. Submissions after that date are accepted until any tender notice is published, but the supplier may miss the industry day. https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=7WB3vlNZS0iuldChbfoJ5W3zRlF2YItErKtGn0bBS41UMjdKQ0JQQlRSVEJOUDFSUUoySVRZMUdMUi4u Email multiuser: [email protected]. Questions of general relevance are answered to all registered suppliers without identifying the source.
  3. Contract startsin 184 days
    1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 28 Sept 2026
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    28 Sept 2026, 17:41 BSTUK2
  2. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    28 Sept 2026, 17:39 BSTUK2

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Ministry of Defence

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PHVX-4316-ZVGZ Zone D, Ground Floor, Ministry of Defence Main Building, Whitehall, London, London, SW1A 2EU

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure