The shortlist of companies being invited to tender for
the next generation of search and rescue aviation has been
announced by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
From today (10 June), the shortlisted bidders will be invited to
tender for the UK Second-Generation Search and Rescue Aviation
programme – known as UKSAR2G - to provide HM Coastguard search
and rescue helicopters, planes and remotely piloted drones.
The UKSAR2G invitation to tender will be issued to these
shortlisted bidders to provide their responses by the end of
August this year:
Lot 1: Rotary, shorter endurance with standard carriage capacity
for short range rescue work
- Bristow Helicopters Ltd
- EEA Helicopters Operations B.V
- Serco Limited
Lot 2: Rotary; High endurance with larger carriage capacity for
long range/multiple casualty rescues
- Bristow Helicopters Ltd
- EEA Helicopters Operations B.V.
- Serco Limited
Lot 3: Fixed-wing, manned and potentially unmanned for rapid
search, surveillance and pollution identification
- 2Excel Aviation Ltd
- EEA Helicopters Operations B.V
- Elbit Systems UK Ltd
- Serco Limited
Lot 4: A combined solution that contains all of the requirements
for Lots 1, 2 and 3 but provided by one supplier/consortium,
enabling the potential cost saving benefits of such an arrangement
to be articulated in a single bid.
- Airbus Helicopters UK LTD
- Bristow Helicopters Ltd
- EEA Helicopters Operations B.V.
- Serco Limited
Once the responses have been received and following negotiation,
the MCA expects to award the contract in late summer-2022, which
will allow time for the successful bidder or bidders to establish
operations before commencing service from 2024 for at least 10
years.
Damien Oliver, Senior Responsible Owner for UKSAR2G said:
Our extensive data has been used to develop the tools that will
enable bidders for UKSAR2G to include cutting-edge, greener
technology that will continue to meet the complex demands of
Her Majesty’s Coastguard long into the future.
This is a truly pan-Government capability that recognises that
more than 50% of the demand for Coastguard aviation today
arises from other public bodies. UKSAR2G will continue to
support UK policing, the health services and other law
enforcement bodies in the work they do. The scale of this
collaboration has never been seen before on a Government
Procurement.
This is a really exciting programme that will continue to
protect the public using state-of the-art aviation technology.
The cost of UKSAR2G is expected to be lower than the cost of HM
Coastguard’s current search and rescue and aerial surveillance
operations. It is up to bidders to ensure they propose a price
that achieves the aims of UKSAR2G, while remaining affordable to
the taxpayer.
