Project CAESAR

Concepts

• southampton
• air-sea rescue
• caesar
• search and rescue helicopters
• uksar2g service provision
• uksar2g
• channel
• uksar2
• small boat crossings
• the uksar2g service

Location

United Kingdom:

Description

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 Majesty's 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.

Total Quantity or Scope

CAESAR was implemented as a dedicated Channel capability, under the existing UK Search and Rescue Helicopter (UKSARH) service provision, freeing the MCA's 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.

Award Detail

Renewal Options

An extension option for a further year is available should the arrangements that replace the current UKSARH service not be ready in time.

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 60443100 - Air-sea rescue services
• 35612500 - Search and rescue helicopters

Indicators

• Options are available.

Legal Justification

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. Migrants crossing the channel, in significant numbers was not an issue the HM Coastguard faced in 2013 when the UKSARH contract was awarded, nor was it anticipated that it would become an issue; the problem is largely unprecedented for the UK and has increased exponentially in a short space of time.

Other Information

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