Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
SDA Capability Map 2026 update
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory publishes Research & Development work continuously — 707 notices, roughly one every 1 day. This is a stream to watch, not a cycle to wait for.
54% of Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s awards go to a supplier it has used before.
Which is the argument for getting on the list rather than winning this one. The incumbent is rarely the last winner — it is the roster. See the retention odds by category →
Note, this activity is not directly related to a specific procurement and any information provided are without commitment and prejudice for all parties.
Therefore, there will not be a contract issued following this exercise.
The purpose of this spreadsheet is to understand how different systems, sensors, products and data solutions provided by industry could address the UK Cross-Government SDA requirements.
This may help to inform the potential contributions to a UK SDA Systems of Systems that will address these requirements operationally.
UK government will use the data provided in the creation of a Capability Map, allowing analysis of current UK capabilities against the requirement set, including consideration of how commercial offerings could close gaps.
Furthermore, gap analysis on the full Capability Map will allow UK government to identify areas where further research and development activity may be required, when no sovereign or commercial offerings are available to meet a requirement.
With the 2026 update to the SDA Requirements, and in order to keep the Capability Map current, this RFI activity is a continuation of the previous call and will likely be repeated in the future.
This RFI provides the standardised format for commercial to demonstrate current capabilities and reflect growth, and UK government to track the health of the sector and available capabilities.
We ask that respondees complete the spreadsheet for the systems etc they offer.
This may require multiple returns, depending on the commercial capability.
If you have responded to a previous call please do so again with your current capabilities.
Note, this activity is not directly related to a specific procurement and any information provided are without commitment and prejudice for all parties.
All information provided in this data collection exercise will remain confidential, in-line with the Civil Service Code, with access granted only to UK Government departments and agencies.
Where specific handling is required please do note this in the spreadsheet in the "Comments on Data Handling" section.
Please keep all data entry at no higher than UK OFFICIAL.
All returns will be treated as UK OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE COMMERCIAL.
Please do let us know if you have information you would like to share at a higher classification and we can facilitate this.
Please submit your responses to ssa@dstl.gov.uk
What the notice asks for
This RFI provides the standardised format
This RFI provides the standardised format for commercial to demonstrate current capabilities and reflect growth, and UK government to track the health of the sector and available capabilities.
Sentences from the notice that state an obligation, surfaced automatically and shown in the order they appear. Not an exhaustive list — always confirm against the tender documents.
What it takes to bid this
Typical UK bid effort for the value not published — mid-band assumed band — an estimate, not a quote.
Qualify & bid/no-bid ~10% · SQ / PQQ ~20% · Written response ~55% · Review & presentation ~15%
Typical for this category — confirm against the ITT pack
- Show at bidComparable references / case studies
- Hold at bidFinancial standing (accounts, often ~2× contract value turnover)
- Hold at bidInsurance cover (PL / EL, often PI)
- Show at bidSocial value commitments
Hold at bid = pass/fail conditions of participation. Show at bid = scored in the quality response. Plan for delivery = contract obligations from day one.
Make the case to bid
Reveal who to approach at Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, and generate a go-to-market strategy from their news, accounts and people.
Free to start. Named contacts come from published notices; the strategy is generated from the buyer’s news, accounts and people.
The full intelligence dossier
Our agent reads Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s accounts, hunts live signals, finds the people who decide — and hands you a bid strategy plus a go-to-market influence plan, including what your team should post this week. You approve every paid step.
Five included while we’re in beta, and the agent asks before it spends on any paid step.
- OCID
- 6a7c818a-2df4-4b60-b934-4c48a9f9ea3f
- Stage
- preprocurement · Open
- Source
- Contracts Finder
- Buyer ref
- n / a
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source data © Crown copyright.
Who wins this kind of work
The suppliers and buyers around this opportunity — drawn from official award data. Drag to orbit; click a node to explore.
Top suppliers & buyers in Research & Development
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s tender network