Official UK procurement notice
CETUS Trials and Evaluation
Authority: Submarine Delivery Agency (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDefence and security - necessary to enhance or maintain operational capability, effectiveness, readiness for action, safety or security of the armed forces
The SDA require Trials and Evaluation (T&E) to be undertaken using the CETUS vessel that is currently being developed by M Subs. T&E is required to de-risk underwater autonomy and demonstrate military utility through payload testing. As the sole designer and manufacturer of CETUS, M Subs hold all technical and proprietary knowledge of the vessel’s form and function, and as such are uniquely positioned to safely operate the vessel in the execution of trials.
Initial trials are a repeat of S201 trials XLAUV trials previously performed by M Subs on a smaller vessel within Project Manta), which M Subs delivered through the DASA Open call (competitive) contracting. Knowledge of these trials is advantageous in allowing these activities to be repeated consistently and efficiently.
While there are alternative commercial operators of AUVs, none currently hold the necessary system knowledge to operate this unique system appropriately. Choosing an alternative supplier risks delay, increased cost, or higher system risks (e.g. of system damage) while this knowledge is gained. This would impede development of this capability, which the Authority has a military imperative to advance.
Once the initial trials have been undertaken there will be greater scope for the Authority to compete longer term operation of the system once it is better understood by all parties allowing a meaningful competition to be undertaken. Separate to the operation of CETUS, the Authority intends to competitively seek different payloads from the open market in the coming years, allowing a broad range of suppliers to participate in advancing military capability within this project.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #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
- 15 Apr 2025, 11:32 BST
- Last source update
- 8 Jul 2026, 09:22 BST
- Authority reference
715850606- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-063930- Latest notice
- Contract termination notice (UK11)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-050312Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Additional Repeat Extension Partial Replacement; Defence Security Qualifying New Award
- Published justification
The SDA require Trials and Evaluation (T&E) to be undertaken using the CETUS vessel that is currently being developed by M Subs. T&E is required to de-risk underwater autonomy and demonstrate military utility through payload testing. As the sole designer and manufacturer of CETUS, M Subs hold all technical and proprietary knowledge of the vessel’s form and function, and as such are uniquely positioned to safely operate the vessel in the execution of trials.
Initial trials are a repeat of S201 trials XLAUV trials previously performed by M Subs on a smaller vessel within Project Manta), which M Subs delivered through the DASA Open call (competitive) contracting. Knowledge of these trials is advantageous in allowing these activities to be repeated consistently and efficiently.
While there are alternative commercial operators of AUVs, none currently hold the necessary system knowledge to operate this unique system appropriately. Choosing an alternative supplier risks delay, increased cost, or higher system risks (e.g. of system damage) while this knowledge is gained. This would impede development of this capability, which the Authority has a military imperative to advance.
Once the initial trials have been undertaken there will be greater scope for the Authority to compete longer term operation of the system once it is better understood by all parties allowing a meaningful competition to be undertaken. Separate to the operation of CETUS, the Authority intends to competitively seek different payloads from the open market in the coming years, allowing a broad range of suppliers to participate in advancing military capability within this project.
Notice history
5 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 15 Apr 2025- Transparency notice published15 Apr 2025, 11:32 BSTUK5
- Contract award notice published15 Jun 2026, 15:25 BSTUK6
- Contract details notice published25 Jun 2026, 15:00 BSTUK7
- Contract signature expected25 Jun 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract termination notice published8 Jul 2026, 09:22 BSTUK11
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2025-04: 1 release · 15 Apr 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| M Subs Limited25 Jun 2026 – 1 May 2028 · up to 31 May 2028Extensions: It is intended that this contract will be directly awarded in accordance with section 41 and Schedule 5 paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023 to M Subs Ltd. The contract is intended to be let for one year with the option for extension of up to two years, allowing the Authority sufficient time to understand the system and its use. · Options: It is intended that this contract will be directly awarded in accordance with section 41 and Schedule 5 paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023 to M Subs Ltd. The contract is intended to be let for one year with the option for extension of up to two years, allowing the Authority sufficient time to understand the system and its use. | £6,680,147 | 15 Jun 2026 | Awarded |
| M Subs Limited | £6,680,147 †same award published again · counted once | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 2 · M Subs Limited
- Signed
- 24 Jun 2026
- Value
- £6,680,147
- Period
- 24 Jun 2026 – 1 May 2028
- Status
- terminated
- Final value
- £3,804,024
- Termination
- contractCompleted, excludedOrExcludableSubcontractor
3 agreed KPIs: Deliverables delivered as per plan · Maintain MS Project plan or equivalent of trials schedule · Social Value 1b Fair working conditions
- Deliverables delivered as per plan, Measure the extent to which milestones are completed, in full, in accordance with the approved project schedule including; trial outputs completed on time, meet the required specifications, and sufficient evidence is provided to the authority for approval.
- Maintain MS Project plan or equivalent of trials schedule, This KPI measures the accuracy and completeness of the project schedule by ensuring changes are limited. Changes to the project schedule should not exceed 1 change request. This excludes the addition of TAF tasking. Noting change requests should be submitted for activities not added to the schedule at the start of the contract. The baseline should be persevered, and any late milestones should be appropriately tracked.
- Social Value 1b Fair working conditions, Activities that demonstrate and describe the Supplier’s existing or planned activities for the contract workforce: ● Monitoring of employee engagement rates (by protected characteristic) and, where necessary, the development of actions to ensure all voices are heard across the diversity of the workforce ● Employment contracts that reflect actual hours worked; steps taken to ensure employees understand their contracts and have the ability to review and adjust them if actual hours regularly exceed contracted hours ● Activities that support an environment where staff are educated about and feel empowered to report and address bullying and harassment ● Activities to cascade good practice on fair working conditions throughout the supply chain ● Number of people working on the contract (aged 16 and above) who have a permanent contract.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- M Subs LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract termination notice Contract termination notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender