Scope
Reference
Pj CORVUS
Description
Description:
The purpose of this Preliminary Market Engagement Notice is to notify the market of Project CORVUS and request engagement from industry partners to inform the acquisition strategy.
Due to the announcement made by the Secretary of State for Defence to the House of Commons on Wednesday 20th November 2024, the Army are seeking to replace the Watchkeeper system with a new Uncrewed Air System (UAS) to deliver the Land Tactical Deep Find (LTDF) 24hr persistent surveillance requirement; under the title Project CORVUS.
Project CORVUS is a CAT B procurement that has been launched in order to procure a new UAS to meet the Army's LTDF requirement, with the stretch target of a Minimum Deployable Capability in calendar year 2025.
Defence Equipment and Support are the Contracting Authority, and the information contained within this notice is subject to contract and subject to change at the Authority's sole discretion.
Overview of the Requirement:
With the UAS market being an increasingly evolving sector, the Army are seeking to procure a modern, deployable, easily supportable and cost-effective capability. Delivery would be across all the Defence Lines of Development (DLoD) but as this is replacing a pre-existing capability, it is preferrable the CORVUS capability minimises the pan-DLoD changes required to the Army as the operator.
The Authority envisage that the single Contract will be let to an Original Equipment Manufacturer / Prime Contractor who will be required to provide the equipment and support to meet the Army's requirements. The solution must be of a high readiness level, be technologically agile, and capable of undergoing spiral development in future years to meet continuously evolving requirements.
The Authority expect this capability to be acquired through a competitive procurement run under the Procurement Act 2023 regulations.
There is currently an expectation that down-selected Tenderers will be required to conduct a live demonstration of their capability, with the details of the demonstration and location yet to be determined. The location may either be a UK Military Facility or at the OEMs designated premises. However, in order to achieve the demonstration, the Authority believe that there will need to be CAA / MAA / EASA or equivalent clearances in place or close to approval.
The below details an overview of the current Key User Requirements.
1 The User Shall Be Able To (TUSBAT) conduct Land Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) operations using an Uncrewed Air System (UAS) (Land Tactical Deep Find (LTDF) capability) across the Divisional and Corps Deep battlespace.
2 TUSBAT conduct persistent, and wide area ISTAR by accurately Detecting, Recognising, Identifying (DRI), tracking, and designating land and maritime targets in real-time using payloads in cooperation.
3 TUSBAT securely communicate with other users and disseminate ISTAR information and platform data at a low-latency, integrating with existing, expected, and emerging Land and Joint ISR/ISTAR Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination (PED) applications and systems.
4 TUSBAT operate across both contested airspaces and Electromagnetic Spectrums (EMS), including in a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) denied environment.
5 TUSBAT launch LTDF at short notice, operate and sustain operations in specified environments without any degradation, and recover the AV for subsequent missions.
6 TUSBAT operate the capability expeditiously and remain mobile, tactically, operationally, and strategically.
7 TUSBAT operate and maintain LTDF with no additional workforce from 47 Regt RA's current workforce requirement and with minimal impact to current training requirements.
8 TUS have a technologically agile capability that can be spirally developed to remain relevant with evolving threats and operational needs.
9 TUSBAT ensure that the capability meets the Land Industrial Strategy Objectives Framework (LISOF) and maintains compliance with current Ministry of Defence (MOD) security policies, safety policies and Military Aviation Authority (MAA) regulatory articles.
The Customer initially requires 2 x Task Lines, each able to provide 24 hours of persistent surveillance. The CORVUS capability will require to be supported for 5 years from Minimum Deployable Capability. There will be Contractual Options included to increase the number of Task Lines and extended years of support should the capability prove its cost effectiveness. However, the initial procurement and therefore Total Value communicated in this notice is for 2 x Task Lines and 5 years of support.
In order to inform the Authority further, you are hereby kindly invited to complete the below Questionnaire prior to the 30th April 2025. Commercially Sensitive information will not be shared outside of DE&S and the Army without prior consent of the author of the information.
Link to Project CORVUS Questionnaire:
Total value (estimated)
- £130,000,000 excluding VAT
- £156,000,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 31 December 2025 to 31 December 2030
- Possible extension to 31 December 2035
- 10 years, 1 day
Main procurement category
Goods
CPV classifications
- 35613000 - Unmanned aerial vehicles
Contract locations
- UK - United Kingdom
Engagement
Engagement deadline
30 April 2025
Engagement process description
You are invited to complete the questionnaire (link in the description of this notice).
Procedure
Special regime
Defence and security
Contracting authority
Defence Equipment and Support
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PVRL-5831-GLMM
MOD Abbey Wood
Bristol
BS34 8JH
United Kingdom
Email: DefComrcl-SystemsGuidance@mod.gov.uk
Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/defence-equipment-and-support
Region: UKK12 - Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire
Organisation type: Public authority - central government