Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 29 Oct 2025, 13:59 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Project SHAMER: Multi-Caliber Sniper Weapon Capability

Authority: Defence Equipment and Support (Central government)

GoodsAbove thresholdDefence & securitySME suitable
Sectors: Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment (35) Delivery: Delivery location not published
Planned pipeline value£16,666,667pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 1 Jun 2026from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 7 yrsends 7 Mar 2034 · starts 9 Mar 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

This is a second round of Preliminary market engagement -2 (PME-2) for a new Multi Caliber Sniper Capability.

The scope of the requirement is still expected to include:

  • Sniper Weapon Systems
  • Ancillary Equipment (e.g. suppressors, bipods, carrying systems)
  • Through-Life Support and Maintenance

The system will utilise in-service ammunition (.338LM, 7.62x51 NATO) and sighting solutions, as well as introducing a new to service nature .300NM.

Following the publication of the initial preliminary market engagement notice-1 (PME-1) on 29 October 2025, the Authority conducted an Industry briefing day on 3rd December 2025. This event allowed for direct interaction with the participating suppliers and provided invaluable insights into the current market landscape.

The Authority wishes to extend its sincere thanks to all suppliers who participated in the briefing and those who have submitted responses to the initial Request for Information -1 (RFI-1). Your time, attention, and the detailed information provided have been instrumental in helping us shape our requirements to this point.

While the interaction achieved many of its objectives, the Authority has identified specific areas where further detail is required to ensure a successful outcome. We are issuing this second PME-2 notice and supplementary question set, called Request for Information -2 (RFI-2) to:

  • Use the feedback to help fill technical information gaps.
  • Inform procurement strategy.
  • Ensure market attractiveness.
  • Encourage competition.

CPV: Rifles

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Planned 7 yrsSME
Contract period: 9 Mar 2027 – 7 Mar 2034 (7 yrs)
Eligibility: SME eligible

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

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

How Defence Equipment and Support buys Firearms (CPV 3532), and who usually turns up

Defence Equipment and Support’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: Firearms (CPV 3532) →

1

How the contest usually goes

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

Question for the bid
This buyerDefence Equipment and Support · division 35
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: 2 of 16 known-size awards · market: division 35 · South West England (authority’s region), n=42
13%55%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning. Small firms win less of this buyer’s work than the market’s: 13% against 55%, n=16.

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 registered in South West England (authority’s region).

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

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 1 of 1 known-location awards · market: division 35 · South West England (authority’s region), n=51
1 of 110%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in South West 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: 3 decided notices · market: division 35 · South West England (authority’s region), n=7
211 days73 days

Half of these awards were announced within 211 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 27 of 31 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 3532 · UK-wide, n=8
87%63%

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 · all categories
52% had one bid
The market6 lots with bid counts · division 35 · South West England (authority’s region)
17% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid52% / 17%
Buyer: 11 of 21 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 6 lots with published bid counts.
2–333% / 50%
Buyer: 7 of 21 lots with published bid counts. Market: 3 of 6 lots with published bid counts.
4–610% / 17%
Buyer: 2 of 21 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 6 lots with published bid counts.
7+5% / 17%
Buyer: 1 of 21 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 6 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 buyer14 lots with estimate and award · all categories
43% below estimate
The market61 lots with estimate and award · division 35 · UK-wide
48% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate43% / 48%
Buyer: 6 of 14 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 29 of 61 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%36% / 38%
Buyer: 5 of 14 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 23 of 61 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate21% / 15%
Buyer: 3 of 14 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 9 of 61 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 353284 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£17m
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 131 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet18% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 131 similar lots
1 bid18%
24 of 131 similar past lots received 1 bid (18%).
2–337%
48 of 131 similar past lots received 2–3 (37%).
4–630%
39 of 131 similar past lots received 4–6 (30%).
7+15%
20 of 131 similar past lots received 7+ (15%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 3 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 £17m, 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
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
29 Oct 2025, 13:59 GMT
Last source update
2 Mar 2026, 21:04 GMT
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-018697
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Rifles
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d649 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

29 Oct 2025 → 9 Mar 2027 · 5 dates
  1. Planning notice published358 days ago
    29 Oct 2025, 13:59 GMT
  2. Latest notice published234 days ago
    2 Mar 2026, 21:04 GMT
  3. Market engagement213 days ago
    23 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT

    How to participate:

    Previous respondents: if you have already responded to the initial RFI-1 issued in October 2025, you are only required to provide response to the question set (RFI-2).

    New suppliers: We welcome and encourage participation from suppliers who have previously not engaged. New entrants are encouraged to respond to Original RFI-1and RFI-2 to provide a complete view of their capabilities.

    Access the RFI-1 - contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opport… ↗

    Access the RFI-2- contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opport… ↗

    All responses must be submitted to: [email protected] by 23.59 on 23/03/2026.

    Please note:

    This is just an information gathering exercise only. It is not a pre-qualification or selection process for any future procurement.

    Participation is highly encouraged, but companies that do not register interest or respond to RFI-1 or/and RFI-2 at this time will still be free to participate in any future formal procurement.

    The Authority will publish further notices in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 prior to the formal launch of procurement.

  4. Tender notice expected143 days ago
    1 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
  5. Today
    22 Oct 2026
  6. Contract startsin 137 days
    9 Mar 2027

Notice history

4 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 29 Oct 2025
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    29 Oct 2025, 13:59 GMT
    UK2
  2. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    13 Nov 2025, 17:13 GMT
    UK2
  3. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    19 Nov 2025, 12:11 GMT
    UK2
  4. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    2 Mar 2026, 21:04 GMT
    UK2
Routine re-releases (4)
  • 2025-10: 1 release · 29 Oct 2025

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

Defence Equipment and Support

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PVRL-5831-GLMM MOD Abbey Wood, Bristol, South West, BS34 8JHContact email

Official documents & specifications (4)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure