Request For Information - UK RF Experimental Lab Capabilities

Dstl's Counter Terrorism and Security (CTS) Division (hereinafter referred to as the Authority), is investigating the availability of Radio Frequency (RF) Experimental Laboratory Capabilities within the United Kingdom.

These RF facilities are critical to ensuring the Authority is able to deliver customer requirements in a safe and secure way by:

1. ensuring experiments can be conducted without impedance from outside signals;
2. protect the outside world from interference that may be caused by our experiments;
3. allow the Authority to conduct experiments in a manner compliant with UK legislation (Control of EM Fields at Work Regulations 2016, Wireless Telegraphy Regulations 2005);
4. provide a low passive intermodulation and low metal environment within the chamber;
5. provide a PC-controllable, high-resolution turntable within the chamber;
6. provide at least a 3 m x 3 m working area inside the chamber;
7. allow RF sensing measurements from 500 MHz to 100 GHz;
8. provide space, power and network connection outside the chamber for control computers, oscilloscopes and network analysers;
9. provide up to 5 work benches with soldering stations for preparing experiments;
10. be available within 1 weeks' notice and used for durations of between several days per week, to several weeks at a time;
11. allow experimentation with targets classified up to Secret;
12. allow unescorted access.

The Authority is issuing this Request for Information to understand the capacity and capabilities of existing RF Experimental Lab Capabilities within the United Kingdom, across both Industry and Academia, in particular whether your capabilities/capacity meet some/all of the requirements set out above.

The Authority is seeking responses from economic operators that cover/provide information on your capacity and capability in respect of the above requirements. Information you provide to us in response to this RFI, that is not already available to us from other sources, will be handled in-confidence. By submitting a response to this RFI you are giving us permission to keep and use the information for our internal purposes, and to provide the information onwards, in-confidence, within UK Government. We will not use or disclose the information for any other purpose, without first requesting permission to do so. This RFI is not a commitment to subsequently launch a formal procurement procedure thereafter.

Additional information:

Economic Operators are requested to note that the Authority is not seeking manufacturers or suppliers of RF Labs/Equipment.

We are looking for responses from economic operators who already have pre-existing RF Laboratory capability (and potential spare capacity) in the UK.