Scope
Reference
714195450
Description
Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) Team Block 2 procurement of Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles, associated equipment and in-service support.
Total value (estimated)
- £125,000,000 excluding VAT
- £150,000,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2029
- Possible extension to 31 May 2032
- 6 years
Main procurement category
Goods
CPV classifications
- 35512400 - Unmanned underwater vehicles
Engagement
Engagement deadline
31 May 2025
Engagement process description
This Early Market Engagement Notice is to give industry advance notice of the Authority's proposed procurement of up to 24 Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (UUV) and 8 Launch and Recovery Systems (LARS) for mine hunting and seabed surveillance purposes, and to gain feedback from potential suppliers via the completion of a set of specific procurement-related questions. This requirement is part of the Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) Block 2 programme.
Suppliers who do not submit a response to this Preliminary Market Engagement Notice/RFI will not be precluded from participating in any subsequent MHC Block 2 UUV competitive procurement process.
Suppliers should note that following the conclusion of this RFI the Authority may, at its sole discretion, decide to proceed with the MHC Block 2 UUV procurement as planned, via a different procurement route or not to proceed.
The purpose of this Early Market Engagement Notice/RFI is for the Authority to gather information and is not a commitment to future procurement activity.
For further information and participation instructions, please access the link to the Authority's AWARD Portal below and following registration (if no existing AWARD account) refer to the attachment titled 'DSP Preliminary Market Engagement Notice-MHC Block 2 UUVs-O'.
https://award.commercedecisions.com/dsp/web/project/a91085a3-2acc-4aad-8803-7a924220eb28/register
When registering for a new AWARD account, suppliers should complete each field as below:
• Organisation - This is the Supplier name
• Contact Name - This is the name of the Supplier User (A single supplier user should register initially)
• Phone and email - We recommend against using group email boxes for AWARD
• The password is a minimum of 12 characters with at least one of each of the following:
o Lowercase letter
o Uppercase letter
o Number
o Symbol
Clarification Questions can be raised by suppliers within the AWARD portal to request additional user accounts once access to AWARD has been granted.
Once suppliers have access to the system and have logged in, they can enter the Project from the My AWARD > Home screen.
Once in the project, suppliers can navigate to Project > Communications > Clarifications and Create a Clarification to request their additional Supplier Users.
Suppliers should note that no ITAR material should be uploaded to the AWARD portal.
Participation
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Publication date of tender notice (estimated)
1 August 2025
Procedure
Special regime
Defence and security
Contracting authority
Defence Equipment and Support
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PVRL-5831-GLMM
MOD Abbey Wood
Bristol
BS34 8JH
United Kingdom
Contact name: Mr Garry Ogborne
Email: garry.ogborne100@mod.gov.uk
Website: http://www.contracts.mod.uk
Region: UKK12 - Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire
Organisation type: Public authority - central government