Find a TenderAwarded without competitionTransparency notice
Published 14 Nov 2025, 11:22 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

UK5 - Transparency Notice

Official notice

Authority: National Armament Director Group (Central government)

Direct awardDefence & security
Awarded value£833,333,333published award · exc. VAT
Award in standstill Not publishedno call for competition
Award (standstill) to General Dynamics Land Systems UK

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Ajax is a group of armoured fighting vehicles which provide the Army with its first fully digitised capabilities. The vehicles were designed and manufactured by General Dynamics United Kingdom Ltd (GDUK Ltd) who are therefore the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Design Authority (DA).

Defence Equipment & Support (DES), part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD), is planning to award a five-year plus 9 months (plus two x one-year options) Ajax In-Service Support contract to GDUK Ltd for the In-Service Support, inclusive of an anticipated 6 month mobilisation period.

The contract scope will contain support arrangements designed to ensure the sustained operational readiness and performance of the Ajax family of vehicles. The scope will cover:

  • Capability management activities including Fleet optimisation, update management and the provision for upgrade tasking.
  • Engineering support including Design Authority Services, Safety and Environment case support, technical documentation maintenance and configuration management.
  • Equipment Support including elements of maintenance and repairs, upkeep and post-Update training.
  • Logistics Support including elements of spares procurement and Inventory management, disposal and the development of resilient supply chains.
  • Policy and Governance including asset management and compliance with legislation and regulations.

The contract value is an indicative value at this point in the procurement procedure. It may increase or decrease at contract award following negotiations and may also be increased at a later date to enable surge for warfighting.

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Awarded

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Direct award
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Notice status
Awarded without competition
Procurement threshold
Unspecified in notice
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
14 Nov 2025, 11:22 GMT
Last source update
14 Nov 2025, 11:22 GMT
Authority reference
UK5 - Transparency Notice Ajax ISS
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-073890
Latest notice
Transparency notice (UK5)
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e13e Find a Tender
Why no open competition
Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
Published justification

The In-Service Support Contract is intended to cover a period of mobilisation from 1st July 2027 to 31st of December 2027 and will then provide for Service Delivery from the 1st January 2028 upon the conclusion of the current Service Delivery contract on 31st Dec 2027. This period will then endure for five years and three months until 31st March 2033. There will be a further two optional one-year extension periods.

The contract will be awarded in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23) and the Procurement Regulations 2024. It is considered that this contract can be awarded by way of a Direct Award to GDUK Ltd in accordance with Section 41 and Schedule 5 – Single Supplier, paragraph 6 of the PA23 due to the unique technical reasons relating to this procurement.

The MoD does not currently have access to the necessary proprietary information or technical documentation for the Ajax platform. Only GDUK Ltd, as OEM and DA, has access to and rights in the necessary Intellectual Property (IP) and technical data which precludes

This approach is necessary to ensure that the MoD can maintain operational capability and safeguard the effective support of the Ajax Platform.

Review and risk notes
Risks

n/a

Notice history

2 events · 1 release on Find a Tender · since 14 Nov 2025
  1. Transparency notice published
    14 Nov 2025, 11:22 GMT
    UK5
  2. Contract signature expected
    1 Jul 2027, 23:59 BST
    scheduled

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1some still in standstill
Awarded value £833,333,3331 award exc. VAT
Awarded toValueDateStatus
General Dynamics Land Systems UKAjax IOS Transition Support Contract1 Jul 2027 – 31 Mar 2033 · up to 31 Mar 2035Extensions: There are two options each of one year to be taken up consecutively£833,333,333—Standstill

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 name, email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Transparency notice awardTransparency noticeUK5Transparency notice on Find a Tender