Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: 069584/S 000-2025
Nature of contract: Supply contract
Procedure: Not specified
Regulation of procurement: Not applicable
Type of bid required: Not applicable

UKPGA UK2: Preliminary Market Engagement Notice

I) Contracting Authority/Entity
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: Ministry of Defence
National registration number: PHVX-4316-ZVGZ

Postal address: MOD Main Building
Town: Whitehall
Region: Westminster
Postal code: SW1A 2EU
Country: United Kingdom

Contact Person: Taiye Adeboye
Email: example.example@mod.gov.uk

Internet address

I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Public authority – central government

II) Object
II.1.1) Title
715675477 RFI Industry VANQUISH
Reference number: 715675477

II.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
Special regime
DefenceSecurity

II.1.4) Short description
RFI for a concept of demonstration for a Fixed Wing Short Take Off and Landing Autonomous Collaborative Platform.

II.1.5) Estimated Total Value
Value (including VAT)
12,000,000
Value (excluding VAT)
10,000,000
Currency
GBP

II.2) Description
II.2.1) Title
Contract/Lot No
1

II.2.2) CPV codes
Main CPV codes
35613000
73410000
73435000

II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code
UK – United Kingdom

II.2.7) Contract dates (estimated)
Start
2026-04-30 00:00
End
2027-12-20 23:59
Duration
1 year 7 months 21 days

II.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice
2026-01-12 23:59

VI) Complementary information
Link to source/bidding documents

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
2025-10-30 07:57

VI.6) Engagement information
Engagement deadline
2025-11-07 23:59
Engagement process description
30/10/2025 UPDATE FOR POTENTIAL BIDDERS
Please note that the CQ response log for this RFI has been updated and is a final document. Here is the link:
~:text=https%3A//contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opportunity/detail%3FopportunityId%3D60349
21/10/2025 UPDATE FOR POTENTIAL BIDDERS
Please note the CQ Log for this RFI has been updated, here is the link:
We reiterate that the Engagement Deadline is the 7th November and not 14th November.
16/10/2025 UPDATE FOR POTENTIAL BIDDERS
Link to Clarification Questions/Answers Log:
Please note that the Engagement Deadline is the 7th November and not 14th November.
The Microsoft Form will no longer accept responses after the 7th November.
RFI INDUSTRY – VANQUISH Technical Demonstration
Description
As part of the route to the Royal Navy’s Hybrid Air Wing, Project VANQUISH seeks to deliver a technical demonstration at sea of an attritable (Tier 2) Fixed Wing Short Take Off and Landing Autonomous Collaborative Platform (FW STOL ACP); nominal target date by the end of 2026, with options for delivery within an 18 month window from the target date also considered. The air vehicle must be able to embark and operate autonomously from a Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) Aircraft Carrier and is to be jet turbine powered and capable of high subsonic speed. It should be able to launch and recover to QEC without Catapults or Arrested Recovery Systems and with a credible payload and endurance. There must be an exploitation pathway to the delivery of a wide range of maritime mission sets in support of UK Carrier Strike in due course (ISR/Strike/Air-Air Refuelling), to compliment F35B LIGHTNING, as part of QEC and its Carrier Air Wing. 
Successful completion of a technical demonstration will inform future capability development and procurement options. This RFI is separate to, but coherent with, existing CSAEW RFI’s dated 9th & 22nd Apr 2025 and will aid understanding of cross cutting technologies which may assist both lines of development. It must be aligned with the principles of Maritime Aviation Transformation (MATX) and build on previous trials and demonstrations of ACPs from QEC. 
To drive delivery of an optimal system, the MOD is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to industry. The outcome of this RFI will inform the capability of the industrial base, in support this requirement. The implementation options in this RFI are not prescribed and we are interested in views from all interested parties on the best possible solution.
Please respond by completing the Microsoft Form in the link below by 17:00 on the 7 November 2025.
Link to RFI response form:

Please send any clarification questions about this market engagement exercise to
Taiye.adeboye100@mod.gov.uk
Latest date to receive CQs is 24th October 2025 midday.
Where relevant and appropriate, this market engagement event may be followed by further engagement exercise which will be notified through normal channels (e.g. Defence Sourcing Portal, Find a Tender).
For the avoidance of doubt, this notice is not informing the market of an imminent procurement. All costs pertaining to the completion of this response are to be borne by the responders.
Please note, procurement dates and values in this notice are subject to governance and should not be viewed as a firm commitment. This RFI is purely to gain market knowledge and is not the launch of a new procurement. Pricing and timelines will be refined through market engagement, at this stage a cost of not less than £10m and a contract start date of between Jan and Apr 2026 is envisaged. Completion of this technical demonstration will result in the data and evidence generated being used to inform the maritime requirement for the prospective procurement of a FW ACP capability from the early 2030s.
Total value (estimated)
£10,000,000 excluding VAT
£12,000,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
1 Apr 2026 to 29 Dec 2027
20 months
Main procurement category
Goods / Service
CPV classifications
Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) and associated payloads
Contract locations
UK – United Kingdom
Engagement
Engagement deadline
14 Nov 25