Official UK procurement notice
UK5 - Transparency Notice
Authority: National Armament Director Group (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDefence Equipment and Support, part of the Ministry of Defence, intends to award a Defence and Security contract to BAE Surface Ships (BAES) for the Sting Ray Mid-Life Upgrade (SRMLU) Demonstration and Initial Manufacture Phase. The contract also includes an option for full manufacture to facilitate refurbishment of existing stockpiles of the Sting Ray MOD 1 Lightweight Torpedo to the enhanced Sting Ray MOD 2 design. The initial contract is for a period of 4 years with an option to extend by up to a further 4 years for full manufacture. The estimated value of the Contract is £600m (incl. VAT).
CPV: Torpedoes
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewal
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Defence & security
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 31 Oct 2025, 11:56 GMT
- Last source update
- 22 May 2026, 14:34 BST
- Authority reference
714785451- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-048004- Latest notice
- Transparency notice (UK5)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d7ddFind a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
- Published justification
It is considered that this contract can be awarded under Section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023, as the direct award justification specified in Paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 (single supplier – technical reasons) applies.
BAES is the current Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), having acquired the original manufacturer and has significant expertise relating to the weapons system dating back to its initial design. Only the OEM has access to the necessary technical knowledge and documentation to fulfil this requirement. Another supplier would be required to investigate, recreate and trial the design on legacy equipment due to go out of service in 2030. This would lead to significant project delays, with an unacceptable impact on operational capability and potentially introducing unacceptable safety and quality risks. There are no reasonable alternatives.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
31 Oct 2025 → 1 Jul 2028 · 4 dates- Planning notice published360 days ago31 Oct 2025, 11:56 GMT
- Next notice expected208 days ago31 Mar 2026, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published156 days ago22 May 2026, 14:34 BST
- Today26 Oct 2026
- Contract starts1 Jul 2028, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 31 Oct 2025- Pipeline notice published31 Oct 2025, 11:56 GMTUK1
- Transparency notice published22 May 2026, 14:34 BSTUK5
- Status changed to complete22 May 2026, 14:34 BST
- Contract signature expected30 Jun 2028, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAE Systems Surface Ships LtdSRMLU D&M1 Jul 2028 – 30 Jun 2032 · up to 30 Jun 2036Extensions: Full Manufacture · Options: Full Manufacture | £450,644,949 | — | Standstill |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- BAE Surface ShipsAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender