Description of Requirement (complete).pdf

Acquisition Office

NCIA/ACQ/2026/07896

Introduction

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) hereby notifies the following Procurement Opportunity in accordance with the Procedure for NATO Competitive Procurement (link). This notification is issued to foster open and fair competition among eligible vendors from participating nations. This notification does not constitute a commitment to award a contract.

Vendors are invited to review the requirements described herein and to submit their bids in accordance with the instructions provided in the subsequent solicitation documentation. All interested vendors are reminded that timely registration and compliance with eligibility requirements are essential, as deadlines for submission may not be extended. Vendors are advised to regularly check for updates to this notification.

This opportunity reflects NATO’s commitment to transparency, equal treatment of suppliers, and the efficient delivery of goods, works, and services in support of NATO missions and participating nations.

All eligible and responsible sources may submit a quotation, bid, or proposal, which shall be considered by the NCIA.

1. Title of Procurement Opportunity

Provision of the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) Tactical Battle Management (TBM) System including In-Service Support and Enhancements.

2. Description of Requirement

The High-Level Objectives (HLOs) are listed below:

HLO 1: Delivery of Minimum Acceptable Capability as initial operational release;

HLO 2: Delivery of completed Final Capability;

HLO 3: Rapid capability evolution for adaptation to future and emerging operational requirements.

HLO 4: In-Service-Support

This includes, but not limited to:

HLO 1 – Identified as Phase 1, the objective is to deliver a minimum acceptable capability as agreed with ACO, as a first operational release. The project will procure an existing product, implement any gaps compared to the minimum acceptable capability. This phase also aims to define and implement the continuous incremental development pipeline to be utilized throughout the project. Phase 1 is intended to accelerate delivery by deploying an available, operationally proven COTS product that provides the functionality needed for minimum acceptable capability. This approach enables operational users to receive an initial capability as early as possible, within 12 months after the contract award, rather than waiting for the full functional scope to be delivered. Any missing functions will be addressed in Phase 2, allowing capability to evolve progressively.

HLO 2 – Identified as Phase 2, the objective is to deliver the second operational release that will implement the full scope of the project through incremental delivery with operational community involvement. This phase will also integrate the product with e-AirC2 Data Layer.

https://www.nato.int/content/dam/nato/webready/documents/finance/procurement-procedure_en.pdf

Phase 2 will deliver the full functional scope through an agile and incremental delivery approach, addressing the functional gaps of the selected COTS product while continuously involving operational users to refine requirements, validate increments, and provide feedback throughout the development cycle.

HLO 3 - Identified as Phase 3, the objective is to provide mechanisms for rapid capability evolution to adapt to future and emerging operational requirements. Routine maintenance and service support activities, such as defect correction, incident resolution, configuration fixes or maintenance of the existing baseline will not be managed under Phase 3 as such activities are covered in either Transition to Operations or In Service Support (ISS) scope.

Phase 3 address emerging operational requirements and future capability improvements using the established agile delivery capability. New requirements will be prioritised according to operational value, urgency, affordability, and technical feasibility. These product evolutions will be delivered either through periodic release cycles or condition-based releases where operational need requires a more accelerated implementation. This will be an evaluated option.

HLO 4 – Identified as Phase 4, the objective is to provide ISS support after Final System Acceptance (FSA). This will be an evaluated option identified as Phase 4.

Outcomes

The expected outcome of the project is an enhanced tactical battle management product fulfilling the Ballistic Missile Defence requirements.

Outcome 1: Enhanced Upper Layer Ballistic Missile Defence tactical battle management capability supporting NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) mission.

Outcome 2: Enhanced TBMD tactical battle management capability supporting NATO IAMD mission.

Outcome 3: Increased maintainability and adaptability.

Outcome 4: Rapid and flexible evolution for emerging operational requirement.

3. Estimated Schedule and Timelines

Milestones are defined as intervals from T0 as in the table below and calendar dates shown are indicative, derived from the planned Effective Date of Contract. Any shift in T0 and T5 will shift all subsequent milestones by the same period, with no change to the intervals between them.

Milestone Milestone Description Schedule Schedule

T0 Effective Date of Contract / Project Start January 2028 N/A

T1 Deployment of HLO 1 / Phase 1 September 2028 T0 + 9 months

T2 Operational Acceptance of HO 1 / Phase 1 December 2028 T0 + 12 months

T3 Deployment of HLO 2 / Phase 2 April 2030 T0 + 28 months

T4 Operational Acceptance of HLO 2 / Phase 2 July 2030 T0 + 31 months

T5 HLO 3 / Phase 3 (Option) July 2030 N/A

T6

End of Warranty for HLO 2 / Phase 2 – Beginning of HLO 4 / Phase 4 ISS (Option)

July 2031 T4 + 12 months

T7 HLO 3 / Phase 3 (Option) Completion - Capability Enhancement Releases

July 2035 T5 + 60 months

T8 End of HLO 4 / Phase 4 ISS July 2034 (Option) July 2037 (Option) July 2040 (Option)

T6 + 9 years in 3-year increments

4. Vendor Eligibility

a. Participation in this Procurement Opportunity is restricted to vendors from participating NATO nations.

5. Access to Solicitation Documentation

a. Interested vendors may participate to and access the solicitation documentation for this Procurement Opportunity as of the Anticipated Solicitation Release Date as follows:

i. Vendors must obtain a valid Declaration of Eligibility (DoE) through their National Authorities in order to be included in the Bidder’s List and to participate should the solicitation be issued.

ii. A template of the DoE is provided in the Annex A to this NPO for reference and completion.