Source: https://tendernation.io/opportunities/01a13d06-de39-72ad-917b-c3b700b635e4/project-caesar [Skip to main content](#main-content) awardedGBopen procedure # Project CAESAR [MCA - Maritime and Coastguard Agency](https://tendernation.io/buyers/mca-maritime-and-coastguard-agency) Estimated value £8,404,500 to £11,000,000 Published 1 Apr 2025 Deadline Closed 1 Nov 2024 ## Who can bid - Open procedure Anyone can submit a full tender; there is no shortlisting stage. ## About this tender The Channel Aviation Emergency Search and Rescue (CAESAR) contract was implemented in March 2022, at pace, to respond to the rising emergency in the English Channel caused by small boat crossings. The service provides a combination of fixed wing unmanned aircraft to provide a multi-layered operational picture over the Channel which allows His Majestys Coastguard (HMCG), and other Government operators, to identify vessels in the Channel, and then determine those vessels at most need of rescue in order to prioritise available surface assets and prevent deaths. CAESAR was implemented as a dedicated Channel capability, under the existing UK Search and Rescue Helicopter (UKSARH) service provision, freeing the MCAs Air Surveillance and Verification service, which had been providing a stop-gap interim service, to return to delivering the role it was designed for, whilst providing a structured service which better meet the operational need of HMCG in the English Channel. The UK Second Generation Search and Rescue Aviation programme (UKSAR2G), which will subsume both current Search and Rescue Helicopter and fixed wing Air Surveillance and Verification contracts, will come into effect between October 2024 and December 2026. However, since the incident data used to inform the UKSAR2G service was based on data up to the end of 2019, and small boat crossings have risen since that data, the data used to inform the UKSAR2G procurement is not reflective of the current demand in the Channel; UKSAR2G service provision cannot meet the national requirement and address the demand in the Channel. The MCA has commissioned data analysis to test the UKSAR2G model against a more up to date data set (up until the end of 2023), which indicated that the UKSAR2G service cannot also meet the current increased Channel demand. While further work is required to understand how best to quantify and mitigate the shortfall, there remains a pressing and immediate need to ensure that HM Coastguard is sufficiently resourced to respond to incidents in the Channel. With the current CAESAR contract due to conclude in February 2025, and the need to provide Bristow Helicopters with 4 months-notice of a contract extension, the only achievable and responsible course of action which meets the needs of the MCA is to extend the service as is. A one-year extension will provide time for the MCA to explore the options available with the UKSAR2G service to address any capability gap, in partnership with other Government delivery partners, to ensure the MCA has a cohesive and enduring capability to meet the aerial search and rescue demand of the UK under a single contracted service. The MCA continues to modify the UKSARH contract pursuant to Regulation 72 (1) (c), on the basis that the need for modification has been brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen. Read full description ## CPV classification Air-sea rescue services Source Contracts Finder (UK) [View official notice ](https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/6f96edd7-1bd4-406f-9ab3-990507889cd5) Never miss a tender like this again Get AI summaries, deadline alerts and a bid pipeline for tenders matched to your business. Free to start. 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