Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) Mid Life Improvement (MLI)
Buyer: Ministry of Defence →
What is being bought
The Dismounted Close Combat project team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence is placing a 10-year contract with FN UK Ltd for the Mid Life Improvement of the Heavy Machine Gun (HMG). This is because FN UK Ltd are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Design Authority (DA) and are the only economic entity with access to the necessary technical information, knowledge and expertise, for the HMG comprised in this contract. FN UK Ltd are also the only economic entity with the capability and access necessary to provide the required technical support to ensure it complies with the Authority’s specification, maintains the operational performance and effectiveness of the weapon system, and ability to underwrite the integrity of the modifications to the weapons systems as a result of a safety investigation.
Delivery location
UK
Categories
What is included
| Item | Category | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Not published | Not published |
Comparable-procurement analytics
Benchmarked against retained Find a Tender procedures with CPV division 50. The category anchor is Repair and maintenance services of firearms and ammunition (50620000); this is a deliberately broad market comparator. The comparison is shown at several levels rather than pretending one company or region is always the best benchmark.
| Comparison set | Procedures | Reported bids per procedure | Named award suppliers | Price evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market: CPV division 50 | 8,189 | 4 median · 21.7 average (3,329 of 8,189 with a bid count) | 3.1 average (3,772 of 8,189 with named award suppliers) | Not published |
| Same buyer | 0 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Delivery region: UK | 1,616 | 6 median · 50.3 average (618 of 1,616 with a bid count) | 5.5 average (747 of 1,616 with named award suppliers) | Not published |
“Reported bids” is an official aggregate, sometimes reported per lot; it is the closest available competition measure. “Named award suppliers” are winners, not all applicants.
Price-outcome signal
Not enough comparable procedures currently publish both a GBP tender value and a usable lowest-valid-bid value to calculate a responsible price-reduction benchmark. Tenderline deliberately does not infer a saving from named award suppliers or from missing award values.
Procurement strategy & market signals
Planning & early market engagement
No planning milestones published.
Related procurements
No linked framework, prior procurement or reprocurement published.
Awards
Contracts
056222-2025-704656450-1
Documents & submission route
No documents are published in the current source record.
Source data inventory
Diagnostic view. “Not published” means this current release does not provide a value.
| OCID | ocds-h6vhtk-043442 |
|---|---|
| Latest release ID | 056222-2025 |
| Latest release timestamp | Fri Sep 12 2025 13:11:08 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) |
| Source | find-a-tender |
| Official notice URL | Not published |
| Tender status | Not published |
| Procurement method | limited |
| Procurement method details | Negotiated without publication of a contract notice |
| Main procurement category | services |
| Above threshold | Not published |
| Legal basis | 32009L0081 |
| Tender period: start | Not published |
| Tender period: end | Not published |
| Expression of interest deadline | Not published |
| Enquiry deadline | Not published |
| Award period: start | Not published |
| Award period: end | Not published |
| Submission method details | Not published |
| Submission languages | Not published |
| Electronic catalogue policy | Not published |
| Total tender value | Not published |
| Tender lots in source | 0 |
| Tender items in source | 1 |
| Tender documents in source | 0 |
| Awards in latest release | 1 |
| Contracts in latest release | 1 |
| Parties in latest release | 3 |
Notice history
| Date | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Sept 2025 | award, contract | 056222-2025 |
| 24 Jan 2024 | award, contract | 002456-2024 |
All source data
Unmodified official OCDS data retained by Tenderline for this procurement process.
Complete current OCDS release JSON
{
"id": "056222-2025",
"tag": [
"award",
"contract"
],
"bids": {
"statistics": [
{
"id": "1",
"value": 1,
"measure": "bids"
},
{
"id": "2",
"value": 1,
"measure": "electronicBids"
}
]
},
"date": "2025-09-12T14:11:08+01:00",
"ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-043442",
"buyer": {
"id": "GB-FTS-160728",
"name": "Ministry of Defence"
},
"awards": [
{
"id": "056222-2025-704656450-1",
"status": "active",
"suppliers": [
{
"id": "GB-FTS-160729",
"name": "FN UK Limited"
}
],
"hasSubcontracting": false
}
],
"tender": {
"id": "704656450",
"items": [
{
"id": "0",
"deliveryLocation": {
"description": "FN UK LTD\nPhoenix House\nSlade Green Road\nErith\nDA8 2HY"
},
"deliveryAddresses": [
{
"region": "UK"
}
]
}
],
"title": "Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) Mid Life Improvement (MLI)",
"legalBasis": {
"id": "32009L0081",
"scheme": "CELEX"
},
"description": "The Dismounted Close Combat project team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence is placing a 10-year contract with FN UK Ltd for the Mid Life Improvement of the Heavy Machine Gun (HMG).\nThis is because FN UK Ltd are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Design Authority (DA) and are the only economic entity with access to the necessary technical information, knowledge and expertise, for the HMG comprised in this contract. FN UK Ltd are also the only economic entity with the capability and access necessary to provide the required technical support to ensure it complies with the Authority’s specification, maintains the operational performance and effectiveness of the weapon system, and ability to underwrite the integrity of the modifications to the weapons systems as a result of a safety investigation.",
"classification": {
"id": "50620000",
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"description": "Repair and maintenance services of firearms and ammunition"
},
"procurementMethod": "limited",
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{
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"procurementMethodRationale": "Explanation:\nIn accordance with regulation 4 of The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/697) this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 as amended (in particular by SI 2019/697 and SI 2020/1450). Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate. It is considered that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service is lawful in accordance with Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 for Technical Reasons. \nThis is because FN UK Ltd are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Design Authority (DA) and are the only economic entity with access to the necessary technical information, knowledge and expertise, for the HMG comprised in this contract. FN UK Ltd are also the only economic entity with the capability and access necessary to provide the required technical support to ensure it complies with the Authority’s specification, maintains the operational performance and effectiveness of the weapon system, and ability to underwrite the integrity of the modifications to the weapons systems as a result of a safety investigation.",
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"contactPoint": {
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{
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"streetAddress": "Abbey Wood, FIR 1B"
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"value": {
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"dateSigned": "2025-08-01T00:00:00+01:00"
}
],
"initiationType": "tender"
}Complete JSON history (2 releases)
12 Sept 2025 · 056222-2025 · award, contract
{
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"title": "Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) Mid Life Improvement (MLI)",
"legalBasis": {
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"classification": {
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"description": "Repair and maintenance services of firearms and ammunition"
},
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{
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}24 Jan 2024 · 002456-2024 · award, contract
{
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"date": "2024-01-24T15:40:52Z",
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"title": "FNHUK Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) Mid Life Improvement (MLI) Project ",
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],
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"id": "002456-2024-704656450-1",
"title": "FNHUK Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) Mid Life Improvement (MLI) Project ",
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