Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: 023523/S 000-2026
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 Abbey wood, Bristol
Town: BRISTOL
Region: Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom

Email: desspace-comrcl@mod.gov.uk

Internet address

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

II) Object
II.1.1) Title
UK2 – Preliminary market engagement notice Project NOCTIS-2
Reference number: ocds-h6vhtk-065e45

II.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
Special regime
DefenceSecurity

II.1.4) Short description
Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MOD), has published a UK 1 Notice purely for information purposes. The Authority would now like to engage with the market via this UK2 Notice and the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) opportunity listing, which can be found here:
This Space Capability Project, designated ‘NOCTIS-2’, comprises a novel space surveillance approach utilising an optical array, and potentially, an Infra-Red (IR) telescope. The project encompasses the procurement, installation, and through-life support of the system.
The purpose is to monitor satellites in all Earth-centred orbits, including Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO) in order to enhance the UK’s sovereign SDA capabilities. The capability is required to operate in Surveillance & Tracking modes in order to provide a persistent stare capability of the GEO Belt and tessellate across as wide a Field of View as possible whilst also providing a more exquisite capability that can contribute to object characterisation.
Project ‘NOCTIS-2’ will be executed at a location outside the UK.
The Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) is expected to be released in Quarter 1 of 26/27 FY.

II.1.5) Estimated Total Value
Value (including VAT)
21,000,000
Value (excluding VAT)
17,500,000
Currency
GBP

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

II.2.2) CPV codes
Main CPV codes
34712000
50324200
71356100
71356300
72222300
72262000

II.2.7) Contract dates (estimated)
Start
2027-04-30 00:00
End
2030-04-30 23:59
Duration
3 years 1 day
Possible extension
2032-04-30 23:59
Extended duration
5 years 1 day
This contract is subject to renewal
Yes

II.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice
2026-04-30 23:59

III) Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions for participation
III.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)

VI) Complementary information
Link to source/bidding documents

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
2026-03-16 13:56

VI.6) Engagement information
Engagement deadline
2026-04-06 23:59
Engagement process description
The Authority would like to notify you of a potential upcoming procurement, and by doing so is keen to understand the market. The Authority is initially interested in getting responses to a series of questions within a seperate document referenced ‘RFI’.
The RFI has been published on DSP, and can be found here:
Following the release of the RFI, the Authority shall formally engage with Industry via a TEAMS Industry Day, please find further details contained in the RFI.
An Industry Day will be taking place on TEAMS on the 27th March 2026. At this event the Authority will provide additional details of the project including (but not limited to) further information of the site, roadmaps and commercial strategy with the opportunity to ask questions and provide comments. We encourage organisations to provide questions and comments before and after the industry day (via email) to help us ensure the requirements set in the competition are clearly understood, appropriate and achievable.
If your organisation would like to attend, please email the contact detailed in this notice and provide email address, full name, organisation name and telephone number (being used to dial in) by the 24th March 2026. The event shall be held at OFFICIAL. Your registration will only be confirmed once checks have been completed.
This procurement shall be considered for competitive tender via the Space Technology Solutions Dynamic Market (RM6370), should you be interested in this procurement – please register to the Dynamic Market to ensure timely access to any potential subsequent procurement stages.
Further notices relating to the requirement will be published on the Find a Tender Service in due course.
Link to The Space Technology Solutions Dynamic Market: