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Published 23 Apr 2026, 13:30 BST

Official UK procurement notice

715850540 - AUV Integration Frames and Support - RFI

Official notice Competition analysis

Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)

GoodsAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Sectors: Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment (35)Construction Materials & Prefab (44) Delivery: Delivery location not published
Planned pipeline value£4,000,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice
Contract term 5 yrsends 1 Dec 2031 · starts 1 Dec 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Authority utilises a variety of different vessels to deploy containerised AUV equipment with deck types including:

  • Flat steel decks.
  • Timber deck steel transverses.
  • Decks with ISO twist lock sockets.
  • Decks with 1m x M20 bolt matrix.

The Authority requires a set of modular Integration Frames to integrate the AUV capability onto a host vessel, that can be stored within a separate ISO container and deployed to the vessel for assembly. The supplier would be required to design, manufacture, deliver, provide sea-fastening design onto maritime vessels, assemble / dissemble and support the integration frames over a 5 year contract.

CPV: Frames · Unmanned underwater vehicles

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Planned 5 yrsSMEVCSE
Contract period: 1 Dec 2026 – 1 Dec 2031 (5 yrs)
Eligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
35512400 Unmanned underwater vehicles44142000 Frames

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How Ministry of Defence buys Warships (CPV 3551), and who usually turns up

Ministry of Defence’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Warships (CPV 3551) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerMinistry of Defence · division 35
The marketWarships (CPV 3551)
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
i

How often small and medium firms win.

Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.

The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 27 of 78 known-size awards · market: CPV 3551 · UK-wide, n=10
35%0%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

How often local firms win similar work.

Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.

Here, local means the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 11 of 17 known-location awards · market: CPV 3551 · UK-wide, n=5
65%80%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in South East England.

How long to a decision?
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 94 decided notices · market: division 35 · South East England (authority’s region), n=8
50 days87 days

Half of these awards were announced within 50 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 43 of 77 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 3551 · UK-wide, n=12
56%50%

Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.

How many bids did past lots attract?

i

How many bids past lots received.

Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.

Past bids do not predict this tender.

Last 36 months.

This buyer21 lots with bid counts · broad CPV 35
62% had one bid
The market12 lots with bid counts · division 35 · South East England (authority’s region)
25% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid62% / 25%
Buyer: 13 of 21 lots with published bid counts. Market: 3 of 12 lots with published bid counts.
2–314% / 50%
Buyer: 3 of 21 lots with published bid counts. Market: 6 of 12 lots with published bid counts.
4–65% / 17%
Buyer: 1 of 21 lots with published bid counts. Market: 2 of 12 lots with published bid counts.
7+19% / 8%
Buyer: 4 of 21 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 12 lots with published bid counts.

How did awards compare with estimates?

i

Where winning prices landed against estimates.

Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

This buyer5 lots with estimate and award · broad CPV 35
80% below estimate
The market62 lots with estimate and award · division 35 · UK-wide
47% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate80% / 47%
Buyer: 4 of 5 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 29 of 62 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%20% / 39%
Buyer: 1 of 5 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 24 of 62 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate0% / 15%
Buyer: 0 of 5 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 9 of 62 lots with an estimate and award.
2

Assess each lot
i

What past awards tell you about each lot.

See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.

No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 355160 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£4.0m
Expected competition
i

How many bids this lot may attract.

The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.

Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 12 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet25% single-bid risk
Past bids on 12 similar lots
1 bid25%
3 of 12 similar past lots received 1 bid (25%).
2–350%
6 of 12 similar past lots received 2–3 (50%).
4–617%
2 of 12 similar past lots received 4–6 (17%).
7+8%
1 of 12 similar past lots received 7+ (8%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 2.5 bids.
Commercial price forecast
i

Where the award price may land.

The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.

No comparable awards for this lot yet.

A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.

—No model forecast yet
No comparable awards on record for this lot’s category yet. The published estimate is £4.0m, and the forecast stays empty until the market has a record to read.

Who has supplied this buyer on similar work?
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

A past supplier may not bid again.

No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.

Who could compete for this lot?
i

Who could compete for this lot?

Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.

None is confirmed as a bidder.

Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.

About this data
  • Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
  • Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
  • Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
  • Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Goods
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
23 Apr 2026, 13:30 BST
Last source update
12 May 2026, 15:17 BST
Authority reference
715850540
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-043542
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
FramesUnmanned underwater vehicles
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06899a Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

23 Apr 2026 → 1 Dec 2026 · 4 dates
  1. Planning notice published180 days ago
    23 Apr 2026, 13:30 BST
  2. Latest notice published161 days ago
    12 May 2026, 15:17 BST
  3. Market engagement159 days ago
    14 May 2026, 23:59 BST

    The completed questionnaire at the link below should be returned via email to [email protected] for the attention of Jordan Thornell by the response deadline of 1700hrs (UK time) Thursday 14th May 2026.

    Potential suppliers may raise questions or seek clarification regarding response to this RFI questionnaire only at any time prior to 1700hrs (UK time) Thursday 7th May 2026. Questions must be submitted via email to [email protected].

    Please use no more than one side of A4, Arial 11, spacing 1.0, including any pictures for each answer. Supplementary information may be provided in the way of web links.

    Participation in this market consultation is voluntary. It is not a requirement to provide answers to every question. If the question is not relevant, please enter ‘Not Applicable’.

    The publication of any documents at this stage is intended to provide potential suppliers with the opportunity to view and comment on the requirement.

    RFI document link - contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opport… ↗

    Clarification Questions and Responses added to the above link

  4. Today
    20 Oct 2026
  5. Contract startsin 41 days
    1 Dec 2026

Notice history

2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 Apr 2026
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    23 Apr 2026, 13:30 BST
    UK2
  2. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    12 May 2026, 15:17 BST
    UK2
Published amendments (1)

Clarification Questions and Responses added to this link - https://contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opportunity/detail?opportunityId=61015

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Ministry of Defence

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PHVX-4316-ZVGZ Abbey Wood, Bristol, South West, BS34 8JHContact email

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure