BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Bidders shall submit a proposal containing a technical design and proposed team composition.
2. Technical Design: The proposed approach shall be summarized in maximum 10 pages (A4 size), and it shall address the required scope of work and the defined deliverables with sufficient details to allow assessment for feasibility of the proposal.
3. In addition to the Technical Design, the Bidder shall submit the Proposed Team, Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a compliance matrix of each proposed contractor.
3.1. Each CV shall have enough details and evidences of individual's previous work to show suitability for the job.
3.2. Size of the Team and Schedule: It is up to the bidder to propose the size of the team that executes the work and produces the deliverables in the time lines allocated.
3.3. Task Lead: The proposal shall clearly identify a task lead from assigned resources. The task lead will be the point of contact for task related matters for the Agency team.
3.4. NCIA shall reserve the right to interview the proposed candidates.
Deadline Date: Tuesday 19 May 2026
Requirement: Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) Feasibility Study
Location of Performance: Off-Site. Scheduled travels are required to work partly at NCIA, The Hague, The Netherlands, and ACT SEE, Mons, Belgium. Travels to other NATO locations are possible.
Note: Please refer to your Subcontract Agreement, article 6.4.1.a, which states “Off-Site Discount: 5% (this discount is applicable to all requirements, and applies when the assigned personnel are permitted to work Off-Site, such as at- home)". Please be sure to price this discount in your overall price proposal when submitting bids against off-site RFQs
Period of Performance: 2026 BASE: 18 June (tentative) 2026 to 31 December 2026, with the possibility to exercise following options:
2027 OPTION: 01 January 2027 to 31 December 2027;
2028 OPTION: 01 January 2028 to 31 December 2028.
Evaluation Methodology: Lowest Priced Technically Compliant
Required Security Clearance: No Security Clearance Required
STATEMENT OF WORK
The team of contractors will contribute to the NCIA Ballistic Missile Defence Programme Office (BMD PO) led activities on exploring and applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) concepts and solutions within the BMD domain. This work builds on the foundations established by ACT's comprehensive Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) studies completed at the end of 2025, and supports the transition into the benefit-realisation phase.
The aim of this work is to expand the ambition of the Emerging Concepts and Technologies work package for BMD by conducting a multi-year Feasibility Study on the application of advanced AI/ML approaches to (T)BMD use cases and operational challenges. The study will be executed at NATO UNCLASSIFIED level to enable broad academic engagement, with subsequent outcomes and software prototypes intended to be leveraged by the ACT BMD POW Team and subject-matter experts for implementation at NATO CLASSIFIED level.
NCIA BMD PO will work with a team of expert AI strategists and technologists. The Bidders shall submit their proposals, according to the Bidding Instructions above, by providing technical design, team composition and schedule.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 To strengthen the Alliance through connecting its forces, NATO Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) delivers secure, coherent, cost effective and interoperable communications and information systems in support of consultation, command and control and enabling intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, for NATO, where and when required.
1.2 The Ballistic Missile Defence Programme Office (BMD PO), as part of the NCIA, ensures the harmonised planning, implementation, deployment, evolution and support of the BMD capability, in a way that satisfies the operational requirements and minimises the military risk, taking into account the NATO political, economic and schedule requirements and using the most suitable industrial and technological solutions.
1.3 ACT has completed a comprehensive series of IAMD studies and is now transitioning into the benefit-realisation phase. Building on these foundations, ACT intends to initiate a two-year Feasibility Study to expand the ambition of the Emerging Concepts and Technologies work package already defined in the BMD PRD 2026. The first year will focus on (T)BMD use cases and operational challenges, examining innovative concepts and emerging technological approaches from leading industry and academic institutions.
1.4 The team of contractors will be producing deliverables as part of the NCIA project team that executes the Allied Command for Transformation (ACT) Programme of Work (PoW) 2026 for BMD. The academic partner will contribute to deliverables with his/her AI research expertise and scientific rigour to the feasibility study, ensuring state-of-the-art approaches are considered and responsibly evaluated.
2. SCOPE OF WORK
2.1. The team of contractors will apply AI and ML principles together with the NCIA project team and will regularly engage with the operational user community.
2.2. The team of contractors will hold 2 (two) skill sets:
2.2.1. AI Strategist
2.2.2. AI Technologist
2.3. The size of the team will be determined by the Bidder. Each contractor in the team shall possess only one skill set and it is not possible to combine more than one skill set within one contractor.
2.4. The team of contractors will work on following tasks to produce deliverables listed in section 2.5:
2.4.1. Leading the identification and scoping of AI/ML use cases applicable to (T)BMD fire-control coordination and IAMD operational challenges.
2.4.2. Reviewing existing NIAG SG300 reports and TBMD simulation data to establish baseline knowledge and identify relevant datasets.
2.4.3. Designing a baseline data architecture and methodological framework for the responsible use of advanced AI technologies within the BMD domain, informed by NATO's current AI architecture and near-term plans.
2.4.4. Conducting feasibility studies on emerging AI/ML computational techniques (such as machine learning, deep learning, reinforcement learning, and large language models) and assessing their potential operational benefit for identified use cases.
2.4.5. Developing and evaluating AI/ML software prototypes and demonstrators for selected BMD use cases at NATO UNCLASSIFIED level in the NATO Software Factory (NSF). All development to take place in NSF and to use existing LLMs where needed (to make it easier to migrate to NS).
2.4.6. Preparing and providing subject matter (BMD AI) briefings, expert reports, and feasibility study documentation related to the project work.
2.4.7. Developing and documenting a responsible AI framework aligned to the NATO Principles of Responsible AI Use (PRU), as outlined in the NATO AI Strategy, but specifically tailored to the BMD context. This work should follow NATO ambition and align with existing work on the topic as required.
2.4.8. Planning and delivering subject matter (BMD AI) training and knowledge transfer sessions to the NCIA project team and a wider NCIA community, focusing on the BMD case. NCIA will share currently available AI training material with the contractor team.
2.5. The deliverables will be:
2.5.1 Baseline Data Architecture (in archimate format)
2.5.2 Identified BMD use-cases for AI/ML techniques Report (in word format)
2.5.3 A software prototype (alpha version) as the demonstrator for the use-cases and data architecture captured in previous deliverables.
2.5.4 The deliverables will be required by various dates, as identified in Section 5, throughout the contract execution.
2.6. All deliverables are to be peer reviewed within their delivery cycle. Input and guidance will be provided by NCIA in written form and during targeted review meetings.
2.7. During the period of performance a Delivery Acceptance Sheet shall be provided to the Purchaser for each scheduled delivery, as identified in Section 5. The Purchaser will confirm the acceptance by signing the Delivery Acceptance Sheet.
2.8. The classification level of the deliverables is NATO UNCLASSIFIED.
2.8.1. Work is to be performed on UNCLASSIFIED networks. NSF access will be arranged by the Contractor.
2.9. The contract will have annual optional scope extension work packages to be executed in 2027 and 2028 should NCIA choose to exercise them.
2.10. The Agency Point of Contact for the daily execution of the contract is the NCIA Project Manager (PM).
2.11. The team of contractors will carry out tasks and will issue deliverables as described below.
WP1 – 2026 BASE: BMD AI Concepts and Solutions – Feasibility Study Year 1
The team of contractors will apply AI research and engineering principles in BMD dom