Contract awardedContracts FinderDrones

Project CAESAR

Maritime and Coastguard Agency
South East
1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026

Extension of existing fixed-wing unmanned aircraft services for the English Channel to maintain operational search and rescue capabilities. The service provides a multi-layered operational picture to identify vessels in distress and support surface asset prioritisation. This extension covers a 12-month period to bridge the gap between current operations and the transition to the UK Second Generation Search and Rescue Aviation programme.

Open the official notice

Awarded value: £8.4m; As published
Published: 22 November 2024; Contracts Finder
Awarded: 1 November 2024; Bristow Helicopters Limited
Contract length: 12 months; Ends 28 February 2026

What the buyer is asking for

Provision of aerial search and rescue surveillance services using fixed-wing unmanned aircraft for maritime emergency response and vessel identification.

Category: Air-sea rescue services

Lifecycle

Publishedon Contracts Finder
22 November 2024
Contract awardedto Bristow Helicopters Limited
1 November 2024
Contract starts
1 March 2025
Contract ends
28 February 2026

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The buyer

Type: Other public body
Drones contracts, 24 months: 2
Open drones tenders: 0
Typical drones contract: £4.2m

See everything Maritime and Coastguard Agency buys →

How it compares

119× the typical drones contract (£71k).

Cite this contract

Link: https://bidskim.com/tender/139085/project-caesar
Buyer reference: tender_299254/1427961
Open contracting ID: ocds-b5fd17-6f96edd7-1bd4-406f-9ab3-990507889cd5
Source: Contracts Finder
Last checked: 12 October 2026

Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Project CAESAR. Contract award, 22 November 2024. BidSkim, https://bidskim.com/tender/139085/project-caesar (accessed 12 October 2026).