GovWire

Overview

The IFU is a funding mechanism that uses funding from international partners to procure priority military assistance for Ukraine at pace. This will ensure the continued supply of military support lethal and non-lethal to Ukraine through 2023 and beyond.

The fund is administered by the UK Ministry of Defence on behalf of an Executive Panel, comprising the UK, Norway, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. These partners, along with Iceland and Lithuania, have contributed a collective total of more than 520 million to the fund to date.

IFU Procurement Opportunities

The first IFU procurement round, known as Urgent Bidding Round 1 (UBR1) has now closed. An announcement on the resulting equipment package was made on 15 February 2023: Ukraine to receive multi-million pound capability boost from international fund.

Urgent Bidding Round 2 (UBR2) has now launched and we are inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI) from suppliers across the globe for:

Air Defence

In the following sub-capability areas:

• Sensors to detect and track cruise missiles, low flying (<50m) DoD Group 2 drones, and/or ballistic missiles.
• Sensor-guided air defence cannons to defeat low flying drones and cruise missiles. Sensor could use radar, electro-optical, infra-red etc.
• Air burst rounds for cannon-based air defence systems (30mm, 35mm, 40mm). Must be at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 9.
• Expeditionary barriers to protect critical infrastructure sites - military gabion (collapsible wire mesh containers). Any size.

The remaining requirements for UBR2 will be launched in the coming weeks and will cover:

• Long range strike
• Mobility support
• Upgrade and maintenance of existing Ukrainian platforms
• Artillery or tank ammunition production

The detailed UBR2 requirements will be raised in the UK MODs Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP), the MODs strategic platform for advertising new opportunities and conducting procurement. When a requirement goes live, suppliers from across the globe will be invited to submit an EOI via the DSP.

Suppliers should review the DSP notices when they are published for further detail on UBR2 requirements and procurement opportunities, rather than approaching the UK MOD at this stage. Suppliers interested in responding to an opportunity should ensure that they are registered on the DSP. Guidance on registering and using the DSP is available on the DSP website directly under the Supplier Registration icon: Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP). There is no charge for registering or using the DSP and there is a DSP helpdesk available.

As with UBR1, procurements on behalf of Ukraine through the IFU cannot follow the recognised standard route for public procurement of equipment and services due to the urgent nature of the requirement and the evolving Russian threat. By submitting an EOI, suppliers acknowledge and accept the exceptional nature of UBR2 and waive all legal rights which may otherwise have arisen from participating in a public procurement.

This webpage will be updated when new UBR2 requirements are released on the DSP.

Expressions of Interest

Air Defence

The UBR2 Air Defence requirements are now live. Expressions of Interest should be submitted by 26 April 2023, 23:00 BST on the DSP Link: DSP-Air Defence. As advised under the IFU Procurement Opportunities section above, suppliers will first need to register for an account on DSP; instructions on how to register can be found on the DSP website.

Further UBR2 requirements will be raised in the DSP, in a phased approach, over the coming weeks.

Background

Following UBR1, an equipment package with an expected value of around 200m was announced. This will include vital capabilities in the form of air defence, uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and spare parts for equipment, including Ukraines current tanks.

The IFU is not intended to be an exclusive route for support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and existing national and multinational routes for support to the AFU continue to run in parallel; submitting an EOI does not preclude suppliers from pursuing opportunities through these routes.

Contact us

Email: SPO-IntFundUkr@mod.gov.uk