HQ SACT – QZBP Quantum-Safe Cryptography Pilot (RFP ACT SACT 26-90)
- Notice type
- RFP
- Category
- Cybersecurity
- Published
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- Deadline
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- Estimated value
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Summary
NATO's Allied Command Transformation (HQ SACT, Norfolk, USA) is seeking a contractor for the Quantum Zero Beacon Project (QZBP) pilot. The pilot will be designed, built, operated and evaluated, and its purpose is to generate evidence on the transition of NATO CIS to quantum-safe (PQC) cryptography. The contractor's tasks include: - architecture and crypto profiles - hybrid and pure PQC key exchange in VPN, remote access, maintenance and application traffic - quantum-safe PKI and HSM integration - zero trust solutions - crypto-agility, including runtime algorithm switching and rollback to the previous algorithm - penetration testing - a VIP demonstration by the end of June 2027 - cryptographic inventory and CBOM, and a migration roadmap - training, handover and assessment of emerging technologies (agentic AI, threshold cryptography, PET) The pilot environment is CFBLNet AQUA (SHAPE Mons, NATO HQ Brussels, NCIA The Hague). In addition, the contractor will perform a read-only inventory in the production environment. QKD is not within the scope of the procurement. The contractor will procure the hardware, licences and tools. The contract is firm-fixed-price and will be paid in seven milestones in USD. Partial bids are not permitted. Eligibility requirements: - the contractor is established in a NATO member country, and personnel are nationals of NATO member countries - national Declaration of Eligibility - NATO SECRET FSC and PSC at the start of performance - ability to handle NATO RESTRICTED information - at least three references from the past five years Evaluation will be weighted technical 70 / price 30. The technical proposal is limited to a maximum of 40 pages. Proposals prepared using AI may be rejected. Schedule: - questions by 28 October 2026 - proposals by email by 12 November 2026, 09:00 ET - proposal validity 120 days - period of performance 4 January–31 December 2027 The scoring matrix (Annex B) will be published in Amendment 1 no later than 16 October 2026. It and the HQ SACT general terms and conditions contain additional conditions that have not been taken into account in this summary.