Unmanned Aerial Systems for Border Surveillance

The Border Management Authority (BMA) requires the supply of two complete unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to observe vulnerable segments of the land borderline across six sectors bordering Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. The systems form a collection capability tasked by the National Border Targeting Centre, which writes requirements against named vulnerable segments and threat categories. Each system comprises an air vehicle with spares, a stabilised electro-optical and thermal sensor payload, a transportable mobile ground control station, an encrypted and authenticated data link, battery provision for three consecutive sorties, transit cases, and a twelve-month maintenance and consumables set. Training for remote pilot operation, payload operation, first-line maintenance, mission planning and administration of the flight record and geofence is also required, along with operations manuals, maintenance schedules and aircraft documentation to support operator certification.

Key technical requirements include a minimum endurance of 60 minutes per sortie with full payload, an operating radius of at least 10 km from the ground control station, launch and recovery by one operator from a vehicle without a prepared strip, and low acoustic signature. The sensors must classify (not merely detect) persons, animals, light and freight vehicles by day and night, and geolocate observed objects to a stated and demonstrated accuracy. The ground control station must operate fully offline, be readable in direct sunlight, support mission planning from the vulnerable segment layer, and synchronise sortie records on reconnection. The system must enforce a hard, non-overridable geofence on the international boundary, produce tamper-evident flight logs, avoid routing imagery or telemetry through manufacturer or third-party services, and encrypt data at rest. Operation must comply with the Civil Aviation Act 13 of 2009, Part 101 of the Civil Aviation Regulations, and the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013. Third-party liability cover must be in place at commissioning, and the supplier must hold professional indemnity insurance of R160 million upon appointment.

Acceptance is based on a live sortie against a real segment rather than a demonstration flight, including classification by day and night, verification of event data within the geospatial system, offline operation of the ground station, geofence refusal evidence, and network capture confirming no external data transmission. Bidders must submit firm prices in South African Rands, inclusive of VAT, with offers valid for 120 days from the closing date of 9 November 2026 at 11:00. The evaluation uses an 80/20 preference point system (price and specific goals), and bidders must provide valid SBD forms, CSD registration, a valid tax compliance status PIN, and proof of BBBEE status. Employment of non-South African citizens is only permitted if they are vetted and hold valid work permits.