Official UK procurement notice
Military Working Dogs (MWD) - 4 Variants
Authority: Defence Equipment and Support (Central government)
Sectors: Agricultural, farming, fishing, forestry and related products (03)Education & Training (80)Community & Cultural Services (98) Delivery: Delivery location not published
Published estimate£3,152,000≈ £1.1m / year · £3,782,400 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 25 Feb 2026awarded 15 Sept 2026
Awarded to SALAKA Limited
Contract term 3 yrsends 30 Jun 2029 · up to 30 Jun 2036 with extensions · starts 1 Jul 2026
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Protect Delivery Team within Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) is preparing to initiate a Competitive Flexible Procedure procurement for Military Working Dogs (MWD). The MWD capabilities required are:
- Canine Protection and Detection Dog (CPAD) -Level 1
- Canine Protection and Detection Dog (CPAD) -Level 2 (Enhanced capability to Level 1)
- Specialist Search Dog (SSD)
- Mobile Ground Sensor (MGS) aka Arms and Explosives Search (AES)
Full capability requirements of each variant will be released at the Tender stage.
- How the procedure runs: Project SEMIFUSED is currently being procured through the Competitive Flexible Procedure in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 ('The Act'). The steps to arrive at a contract award decision are as follows: • Project Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) – the top 6 compliant suppliers with the highest technical scores shall be invited to Invitation to Tender (ITT). Link to PSQ: https://contracts.mod.uk/go/96591920019C0F74C083 • ITT - the estimated ITT release date will be 1 March 2026. The estimated ITT expiry date will be 1 May 2026. Full information on the evaluation criteria, will be provided in the ITT guidance. • Contract Award – The tenderer offering the best Value for Money (VFM), using the methodology to be laid out in the ITT guidance, will be awarded the contract. The Authority reserves the right under the Procurement Act 2023 to: • To cancel the procurement procedure at any stage. • Not to award a contract as a result of the procurement process. • Make any modifications during a competitive flexible procedure, provided that the deadline to participate or submit a first or only tender has not passed (section 31(1)(b)). • Make non substantial modifications, during a competitive flexible procedure, up to the deadline of the final tendering stage (section 31(2)(a)). • Refine or supplement the award criteria during a competitive flexible procedure (section 24(1)). If there are any changes to the procedure, this will be set out in the ITT supporting documentation.
- No preliminary market engagement: Pipeline Notice and PSQ published
CPV: Dog kennel services · Dog training services · Small animals
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£3,152,000
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)1
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Full details are contained within the document: 20260129-715750450_SEMIFUSED_Conditions_of_Participation-O
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
How bids were scored
Published sub-criteria (1)
- Project SEMIFUSED PSQ - Conditions of Participation: 100%
Published award criteria (1)
- Project SEMIFUSED PSQ - Conditions of Participation: Suppliers will be evaluated in two stages: Stage 1 - Qualification Stage 2 - Technical Only suppliers that pass Stage 1 shall be deemed compliant and progress to Stage 2 - Technical evaluation. Most questions in Stage 1 and 2 are pass/fail questions. Questions where a 'fail' or a score of 0 will result in exclusion from the competition has been clearly identified within the evaluation criteria against each question in the Project SEMIFUSED PSQ - Conditions of Participation document. Questions within the 'Technical Ability and Project Experience' (within Stage 2) of the PSQ are weighted and scored (0/30/70/100). The weighting for this section is 100%.
Conditions of participation1
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Full details are contained within the document: 20260129-715750450_SEMIFUSED_Conditions_of_Participation-O
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Defence & security
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 13 Jan 2026, 14:21 GMT
- Last source update
- 29 Sept 2026, 13:00 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 1 Jun 2026
- Authority reference
715750450- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-008648- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0604bdFind a Tender
- How it runs
Project SEMIFUSED is currently being procured through the Competitive Flexible Procedure in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 ('The Act').
The steps to arrive at a contract award decision are as follows:
- Project Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) – the top 6 compliant suppliers with the highest technical scores shall be invited to Invitation to Tender (ITT). Link to PSQ: contracts.mod.uk/go/96591920019C0F74C083 ↗
- ITT - the estimated ITT release date will be 1 March 2026. The estimated ITT expiry date will be 1 May 2026. Full information on the evaluation criteria, will be provided in the ITT guidance.
- Contract Award – The tenderer offering the best Value for Money (VFM), using the methodology to be laid out in the ITT guidance, will be awarded the contract.
The Authority reserves the right under the Procurement Act 2023 to:
- To cancel the procurement procedure at any stage.
- Not to award a contract as a result of the procurement process.
- Make any modifications during a competitive flexible procedure, provided that the deadline to participate or submit a first or only tender has not passed (section 31(1)(b)).
- Make non substantial modifications, during a competitive flexible procedure, up to the deadline of the final tendering stage (section 31(2)(a)).
- Refine or supplement the award criteria during a competitive flexible procedure (section 24(1)).
If there are any changes to the procedure, this will be set out in the ITT supporting documentation.
How it was run
Official noticeRun through: Defence Sourcing Portal · Who buys & how to bid on MOD DSP
Access & registration note: Free · registration requires an NCAGE code — obtain in advance · before you can bid: NCAGE
- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 25 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Submission deadline
- 25 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 15 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
PSQ responses to be submitted to the Authority via the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) by the 25/02/2026. Responses submitted via any other medium will not be accepted.
PSQ Link - contracts.mod.uk/go/96591920019C0F74C083 ↗
Opportunity Listing Link - contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opport… ↗
Timeline
13 Jan 2026 → 29 Sept 2026 · 9 dates- Planning notice published283 days ago13 Jan 2026, 14:21 GMT
- Next notice expected276 days ago20 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Tender notice published266 days ago30 Jan 2026, 16:36 GMT
- Clarification questions by250 days ago15 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Submission deadline240 days ago25 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Award decision expected by144 days ago1 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts115 days ago1 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent25 days ago29 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published24 days ago29 Sept 2026, 13:00 BST
Notice history
7 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 13 Jan 2026- Pipeline notice published13 Jan 2026, 14:21 GMTUK1
- Tender notice published30 Jan 2026, 16:36 GMTUK4
- Status changed to active30 Jan 2026, 16:36 GMT
- Procurement method changed30 Jan 2026, 16:36 GMT
- Contract award notice published29 Sept 2026, 13:00 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete29 Sept 2026, 13:00 BST
- Contract signature expected12 Oct 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecastAwards 1
Awarded value £3,152,0001 award exc. VAT
Bids received 22 from SMEs
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SALAKA Limited12 Oct 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2036Extensions: 7 option years to extend - the Authority reserves the right, at it's absolute discretion, to not take up any of the option years. · Options: 7 option years to extend - the Authority reserves the right, at it's absolute discretion, to not take up any of the option years | £3,152,000 | 15 Sept 2026 | Awarded |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2final-stage tenders · 3 at stage one | 2 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- SALAKA LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specificationsAccess: Documents to support the PSQ have been provided. Documents to support the ITT will be provided. All documents will be issued via the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP).
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender