In the same week as Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer agree a new collaboration on tackling Channel crossings, the department has unveiled an intended deployment of upgraded modern surveillance tech
The Home Office has revealed plans to put in place a near-£15m deal to increase the use of automated tech and artificial intelligence systems in its surveillance of small-boat Channel crossings.
The proposed contract – details of which have emerged just as the leaders of the UK and France announce a new joint plan for tackling small boats – forms part of government’s wider “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) package”, according to a newly published commercial notice.
The document sets out specifications for technology deployed on land in the UK. These systems should allow government’s Channel Operations team to “reliably and autonomously detect, track, and identify small boats at range, fusing this with data generated by existing platforms, and presenting it to end users”. The new tech systems will cover movements in the UK’s territorial waters around “the Dover Strait from Ramsgate to Hastings”, which encompasses a range a range of 12 nautical miles from the Kent coast.
A key aspect of the deal, which the Home Office hopes to sign next summer, will be the incorporation of new AI and automation platforms, according to the procurement notice.
“Most security and situational awareness systems used for maritime border security, such as coastal radar, cameras, or patrol vessels, simply collect data from their sensors and feed it ‘raw’ to an operator who assesses the situation and directs the system accordingly,” the document says. “Monitoring and interpreting large volumes of data requires high communications bandwidth and places a high cognitive burden on the operator, potentially leading to missed threats or delayed responses.”
The notice adds: “The overarching requirement is to provide enhanced tactical domain awareness in the area of interest by making use of AI-enhanced data fusion and autonomous sensor management to support decision-making and the tasking and coordination of operational assets. The autonomous data fusion node must be supported by a network of advanced sensors with AI at the edge (edge nodes), combined with intelligent fusion and sensor management.”
New and modern systems are needed as small vessels can often be missed by more-longstanding technologies, according to the Home Office.
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“Due to their low profile and construction, [small boats] present a very low radar cross-section, making them difficult to detect using conventional maritime surveillance systems,” the notice adds. “Embarkations typically occur at all hours, day, and night, with wave heights 1 m or less.”
Data stemming from “a network of existing and additional sensors” will be fed to operators via a “web interface” which, in addition to the new AI-powered tools, will also bring in “data generated by existing platforms”.
The overall aim is to “creating a cohesive and interoperable system… to facilitate real-time decision-making”.
Managed service
To enable this functionality, the Home Office (HO) is seeking to appoint a supplier that can offer “a managed service that provides… domain awareness via a connection to HO-owned… server, this will provide a common operating picture that is made available to key decision-makers and operational first responders”.
The notice adds: “The current operational tempo assumes a requirement for 24/7/365 service availability. Suppliers will need to ensure the system is supported with sufficient personnel and process to resolve any issues promptly.”
The Home Office has not yet commenced a formal bidding process but, between now and late November, intends to engage with potential providers “to determine the level of interest, capacity and capability to meet the requirements… [and] establish the most cost-effective way to deliver the requirements, including any alternative or creative solutions”.
The ultimate intention is to sign a supplier to an initial one-year deal, with an option of a further 12-month extension – which would take the agreement’s end date to June 2028. If it runs for its full potential term, the engagement is expected to be worth about £14.4m to the winning bidder.
The chosen firm will be expected to deliver a system that is “fully operational within six months from contract award,” although “an interim operational capability with additional functionality added incrementally may be acceptable”, the notice adds.
The publication of the commercial planning document comes in the same week as French president Emmanuel Macron has visited the UK. Alongside prime minister Keir Starmer, the two leaders are today expected to announce a new “one in, one out” cooperation deal, in which – every time an asylum seeker is returned to France – the UK will, in turn, grant to asylum to one person that can establish a family connection to this country.
A total of 21,117 people have arrived in the UK via small boats so far in 2025, according to Home Office data.
The AI tech planning notice outlines that the surveillance tech will be deployed to detect “a soft-hulled, single- or multi-chamber inflatable boat with a rigid or semi-rigid floor, typically 8 metres in length, 3 metres in width, and approximately 1.25 metres in height above the waterline.. [which] are often overloaded with 40-60 individuals, lack automatic identification system transponders, and are piloted by unskilled individuals attempting to cross the English Channel”.
