Official UK procurement notice
The Provision of OBSIDIAN Support
Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThis procurement seeks a 24-month support, maintenance, and training contract for the OBSIDIAN Electronic Surveillance (ES) system, a critical Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) exploitation capability used by the Field Army. The contract will run from February 2027 to February 2029.
The contractor will provide full in-service support, including routine maintenance, break/fix repairs, and software and firmware updates. The contract also includes annual trainer recertification, user training, secure connectivity support for deployed and home base operations, OEM liaison, engineering assurance, and quarterly performance reporting.
Suppliers must ensure full operational availability of OBSIDIAN systems, compliance with MOD safety and environmental standards, and delivery of all training and connectivity requirements.
CPV: Military defence services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Published value£2,375,000
- Economic & financial standing
See tender documents and Defence Sourcing Portal.
- Technical & professional ability
See tender documents and Defence Sourcing Portal.
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- Quality: This criterion assesses the non-financial aspects of the tender, such as technical quality, social value, innovation, and compliance with requirements. The quality score contributes to the overall evaluation alongside cost to determine value for money.
- Price: This criterion evaluates the financial aspect of the tender, including the total price submitted in the Price Schedule. Price will be assessed to ensure competitiveness and value for money, forming a key part of the overall evaluation alongside quality.
- Economic & financial standing
See tender documents and Defence Sourcing Portal.
- Technical & professional ability
See tender documents and Defence Sourcing Portal.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £2,371,751 (twice the annual value).
Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Ministry of Defence buys Defence services (CPV 7522), and who usually turns up
Ministry of Defence’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Defence services (CPV 7522) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 42 days of the bid deadline.
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.
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.
1 bid20% / 20%
2–340% / 60%
4–620% / 0%
7+20% / 20%
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.
Below estimate60% / 35%
Within ±2%22% / 58%
Above estimate18% / 8%
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.
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 7522Published estimate£2.4m
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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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid15%
2–363%
4–620%
7+3%
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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.
Based on 77 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£2.0m–£2.2m
Estimate£2.4m
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.
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capita Business Services LtdEarlier contract | The Provision of Adventurous Training Instructor (ATI) Supportstarted Jun 2026 | — | £2.0m | Matched as the earlier contract |
| JD2E LtdWorked for this buyer | Provision of Support for Mission Aircrew Optical Trainer (MAOT)runs to Feb 2028 | — | £77k | Similar wording and category |
| boxxe LimitedWorked for this buyer | MLRS MEDL - IN SERVICE FOR DONGLES DOBUS CONTRACT - VTNnotice published Nov 2023 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
| Anduril Industries, inc.Worked for this buyer | 701579389 Project Talos IInotice published Jan 2022 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
| BOUGHTON ENGINEERING LtdWorked for this buyer | 702576451 - Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineer (AVRE) Trailer In Service Supportnotice published Jun 2023 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
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.
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
Serco LimitedLarge | £2.7bn32 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 12 live · £1.5bn iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 15% below n=13 |
KPMGLarge | £570m147 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 39 live · £100m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=23 |
| £91m74 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 20 live · £5.2m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=1 | |
JD2E LtdSME | £176k4 awards in 36m · last 9 months ago | 1 live · £77k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | no comparable pairs |
| £2.8m2 awards in 36m · last 31 months ago | None on file | no comparable pairs |
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- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 25 Jun 2026, 12:11 BST
- Last source update
- 26 Oct 2026, 15:58 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 27 Jan 2027
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-101176- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06bcf9Find a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Defence Sourcing Portal- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 6 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 6 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
25 Jun 2026 → 9 Feb 2027 · 7 dates- Planning notice published123 days ago25 Jun 2026, 12:11 BST
- Next notice expected7 days ago19 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice publishedearlier today26 Oct 2026, 15:58 GMT
- Today26 Oct 2026
- Clarification questions byin 11 days6 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 72 days6 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 93 days27 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 105 days9 Feb 2027
Notice history
6 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 25 Jun 2026- Pipeline notice published25 Jun 2026, 12:11 BSTUK1
- Pipeline notice published1 Oct 2026, 15:34 BSTUK1
- Tender notice published26 Oct 2026, 15:58 GMTUK4
- Published value updated to £2,375,00026 Oct 2026, 15:58 GMTwas £2,375,520
- Status changed to active26 Oct 2026, 15:58 GMT
- Deadline published: 6 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT26 Oct 2026, 15:58 GMT
Published amendments (1)
updated the tender dates and expected contract dates. updated contact email address.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender