Official UK procurement notice
Pipeline Notice - Surface Finishing Delivery for the RAF
Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Authority requires a Surface Finish (SF) capability to support Air Systems in the Project URD. This capability is essential to ensure the continued airworthiness of these Air Systems, as mandated by the relevant Platform Engineering Authorities.
Additionally, the Authority requires an SF capability for Mechanical Transport (MT) and Aircraft Ground Support Equipment (GSE) collectively called ASE to support corrosion control and visual signature management in line with current policies.
The SF capability will also be required to deliver miscellaneous station support tasks, such as the production of signage and other station workshop outputs. This capability must be readily accessible to all RAF stations across the UK and to UK Strategic Command (UKStratCom) Permanent Joint Operating Bases (PJOBs) overseas.
- How the procedure runs: Suppliers interested in this Contract must express their interest by emailing [email protected], with the subject title ‘Expression of Interest - Surface Finishing Delivery for the RAF ( + Company Name)’”. Expressions of interest must be submitted no later than 14th April 2026. Late submissions will not be considered. Interested suppliers will be required to complete a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), as part of the process.
CPV: Aircraft and spacecraft · Aircraft repair services · Mechanical appliances for projecting, dispersing or spraying · Metal-spraying machinery · Military aircrafts · Painting and glazing work · Parts of spraying machines · Repair, maintenance and associated services related to aircraft and other equipment · Spray booths · Spray guns · Spraying equipment
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Ministry of Defence buys Machinery for cleaning bottles, packing and weighing and spraying machinery (CPV 4292), 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: Machinery for cleaning bottles, packing and weighing and spraying machinery (CPV 4292) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside the delivery region.
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.
Half of these awards were announced within 50 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The buyer’s share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
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.
1 bid20%
2–320%
4–660%
7+0%
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.
Below estimate61%
Within ±2%22%
Above estimate17%
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.
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 4292Published estimate£95m
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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 222 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid24%
2–339%
4–629%
7+8%
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.
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.
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.
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- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- 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
- 6 Mar 2026, 08:42 GMT
- Last source update
- 25 Mar 2026, 08:37 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 3 Mar 2027
- Authority reference
DAT: IP-00004476- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-027102- Latest notice
- Planned procurement notice (UK3)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0663a6Find a Tender
- How it runs
Suppliers interested in this Contract must express their interest by emailing [email protected], with the subject title ‘Expression of Interest - Surface Finishing Delivery for the RAF ( + Company Name)’”. Expressions of interest must be submitted no later than 14th April 2026. Late submissions will not be considered. Interested suppliers will be required to complete a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), as part of the process.
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 14 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Submission deadline
- 14 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 10 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Suppliers interested in this contract must express their interest submitting a response via DSP. Expressions of interest must be submitted no later than 14th April 2026. Late submissions will not be considered. Interested suppliers will be required to complete a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), as part of the process.
Timeline
6 Mar 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 8 dates- Planning notice published230 days ago6 Mar 2026, 08:42 GMT
- Latest notice published211 days ago25 Mar 2026, 08:37 GMT
- Tender notice expected210 days ago25 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Market engagement197 days ago7 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
The Authority requires a Surface Finish (SF) capability to support Air Systems in the Project URD. This capability is essential to ensure the continued airworthiness of these Air Systems, as mandated by the relevant Platform Engineering Authorities.
The intention to close preliminary market engagement is 7th April.
Suppliers are invited to partake in a PME Teams meeting, on 27th March from 10.30 – 12.30. The agenda for the meeting will be –
- Introduction and purpose (15 minutes)
- Background and vision (20 minutes)
- Proposed requirements and scope (25 minutes)
- Interactive Q&A (40 minutes)
- Next steps and timelines (5-10 minutes)
Minutes will be taking during the meeting. Following the PME session, presentation slides will be shared and Q&A document distributed.
This PME is intended to help identify the potential bidders who can deliver the required services and who can collaborate with the Ministry of Defence (RAF) to achieve the Authority’s long-term strategic objectives. It will inform and shape the next steps and strategy for this procurement, based on the information and feedback received, ensuring that the proposed solution is robust, realistic and aligned with market conditions and appetite.
The PME exercise is designed to achieve the following:
- Identify Potential Bidders
- Explore Alternative Solutions
- Understand Risks and Opportunities
- Shape the Service Requirement
Suppliers interested in this Contract must express their interest by emailing [email protected], with the subject title ‘Expression of Interest - Surface Finishing Delivery for the RAF ( + Company Name)’”
- Clarification questions by194 days ago10 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Submission deadline190 days ago14 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Award decision expected byin 133 days3 Mar 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 161 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
7 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 6 Mar 2026- Pipeline notice published6 Mar 2026, 08:42 GMTUK1
- Planned procurement notice published10 Mar 2026, 11:05 GMTUK3
- Procurement method changed10 Mar 2026, 11:05 GMT
- Preliminary market engagement notice published13 Mar 2026, 16:07 GMTUK2
- Published value published: £95,000,00013 Mar 2026, 16:07 GMT
- Preliminary market engagement notice published25 Mar 2026, 08:32 GMTUK2
- Planned procurement notice published25 Mar 2026, 08:37 GMTUK3
Published amendments (2)
Addition of contact details to register interest within 'Engagement' Section
Addition of contact details and procedure to express interest.
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2026-03: 2 releases · 6 Mar 2026, 10 Mar 2026
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
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specificationsAccess: All documents will be available via DSP
Notices published for this procedure
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender