Procurement Master Schedule 2026-27

1 · Why this calendar exists

DEFONEOS must align bids, capability investment, BFT council votes, and pilot SOW readiness to a 12-month procurement rhythm. The 26 windows below are the named set; each is annotated with the deadline, the value band, the eligibility constraints, and the DEFONEOS-bid fit (HIGH = suitable for direct bid or consortium lead, MED = consortium partner, LOW = watch only).

Three rules govern this schedule:

1. No bid is filed outside this calendar. Anything not listed is rejected at intake — focus over breadth.
2. Bids targeting HIGH-fit windows are reviewed by the 33-agent BFT council. Council quorum 23/33 required to approve file.
3. Capability investment (which sovereign weights / which MCPs / which pilot SOW) follows the bid pipeline. Reverse direction is a veto.

2 · UK Procurement Calendar (10 windows)

3 · EU Procurement Calendar (8 windows)

4 · US Procurement Calendar (5 windows)

5 · AUKUS & Multilateral Calendar (3 windows)

6 · The HIGH-fit 14 — DEFONEOS direct bid / consortium lead

These 14 windows are where DEFONEOS bids directly or leads a consortium. Each is annotated with the bid SOW template, the BFT-33 council review milestone, and the pilot readiness gate.

7 · The MED-fit 7 — DEFONEOS consortium partner

8 · The LOW-fit 5 — watch only

These 5 windows are out of scope for DEFONEOS (wrong domain, wrong stage, wrong scale). Watched quarterly for scope change.

9 · Quarterly readiness gate (DEFONEOS internal)

10 · Bid fit scoring (the 5-criterion model)

Each window is scored against 5 criteria. HIGH = 4-5 score, MED = 2-3, LOW = 0-1.

1. Mission alignment — does the window's mandate match DEFONEOS sovereign-by-design thesis?
2. Eligibility headroom — can DEFONEOS meet security / clearance / domicile requirements in time?
3. SOW readiness — is there a pilot SOW already drafted, or can one be drafted in <30 days?
4. BFT council capacity — is the 33-agent BFT council available to review bid readiness within the timeline?
5. Capability investment — does winning this window require capability DEFONEOS has, or capability we can build in <90 days?

11 · Cross-walk to other DEFONEOS artefacts

12 · The 5 Anti-Patterns (Procurement Calendar Disasters We Refuse)

1. No "we'll bid everything." Bid only what's HIGH-fit (14 windows). MED = partner only. LOW = watch.
2. No "last-minute bid." BFT review milestone must be 14+ days before deadline.
3. No "out-of-scope bid for optics." Biometrics / kinetic / autonomous = red lines, always refused.
4. No "capability investment lagging bids." Bid pipeline drives capability pipeline, never the reverse.
5. No "calendar without owners." Every HIGH-fit window has a named DEFONEOS bid owner + BFT liaison.

13 · Owner gates (human-decision items blocking bids)

1. UK SC clearance — blocks MOD IFS TC-008 (#5), Dstl AI T&E (#7), AUKUS Pillar 2 (#25)
2. DSP registration — blocks all UK MOD direct bids (#5, #6, #10)
3. Cyber Essentials + Cyber Essentials Plus — blocks NCSC ACD 4 (#6), ENISA (#16)
4. US SPAC formation — blocks FedRAMP (#22) and US-led consortium bids (#19, #20, #23)
5. EU consortium partner letters — blocks EDF 2026 (#13), EuroHPC (#14), Horizon Europe (#18) until 1 EU lead signed

14 · Buyer Next Steps

1. Verify this calendar hash: curl https://csoai.org/defoneos-mod-procurement-master-schedule-2026-27.html | shasum -a 256
2. Browse live bid pipeline status: csoai.org/bids/{jurisdiction}
3. Subscribe to deadline alerts: csoai.org/bids/subscribe
4. Request a 60-minute procurement walkthrough with our VP Customer Success.
5. Inspect a sample bid pack: csoai.org/bids/sample/{window_id}