Contract Watch – July 2025 Edition 🛡️📑
This month’s round-up includes a few standout tenders — Corvus, DDAD, and the UUV pipeline all stand out as significant defence investments. We’re also tracking radar upgrades, serious crime command roles, and international security infrastructure. These updates are designed to keep our network sharp on what’s moving across the UK defence space. As always, if you’re bidding, delivering, or planning your next hire, we’re here to support.
Each month, Banner Lane reviews publicly released tenders and notices across the UK defence and security sectors. These insights provide a snapshot of where government investment is flowing – and where hiring, delivery pressure, and programme acceleration are likely to follow.
📡 Strategic Programmes
MOD – Project Corvus (Watchkeeper Replacement) Value: £130M | Delivery: 1 May 2026 – 30 April 2031 Type: Contract Notice The MoD has launched Project Corvus, a £130M procurement for a next-generation Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) to replace the British Army’s Watchkeeper drones. The requirement focuses on 24/7 persistent surveillance, real-time ISTAR delivery, and resilience in GNSS-denied and contested environments.
Buyer Insight: A flagship Land Tactical Deep Find capability programme — includes live flight demonstrations and will test the UK’s streamlined procurement processes. Strong alignment to deep ISR, deployable UAS platforms, and autonomy.
MOD – Digital Decision Accelerators for Defence (DDAD) Value: £180M | Deadline: 18 August 2025 Type: Framework Notice & Tender A major strategic framework aimed at accelerating decision superiority and battlefield information dominance across UK forces. Expect demand across data science, analytics, systems engineering, and programme leadership.
Buyer Insight: Part of the Defence AI Strategy; likely to involve a mix of primes and specialist consultancies.
DE&S – Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (UUV-UK3) Value: £125M | Deadline: 5 March 2026 (PIN stage) Type: PIN Long-range planning notice from DE&S, focused on procurement of next-generation UUVs. Signals upcoming demand in maritime autonomy, naval systems, and underwater ISR platforms.
Buyer Insight: Fits within the Royal Navy’s mine countermeasure modernisation pathway and autonomous systems doctrine.
⚙️ Operational Readiness & Logistics
Leidos Supply – Close Combat Gloves Value: £13.4M | Deadline: 4 November 2025 Type: Tender Part of a broader logistics and PPE pipeline to support UK land operations. Indicates Leidos is continuing to prime multiple combat apparel and readiness-related tenders.
MOD – Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) Clothing Value: £8M | Deadline: 18 August 2025 Type: Tender Supports winter and arctic environment readiness. May see parallel demand for logistics coordination, textile engineering, and inventory management roles.
MOD – 40x53mm Grenades Procurement Value: £134M | Deadline: 31 July 2025 Type: Tender Reinforces ammunition stockpiling and combat readiness priorities.
Buyer Insight: Reflects ongoing lifecycle sustainment across light infantry and mounted platforms.
🧠 Health & Personnel Resilience
MOD – Provision of Mental Health Services (2026) Value: £18M | Deadline: 28 August 2025 Type: Tender Part of a growing focus on holistic force support. Expect subcontracting and delivery partner roles to emerge, particularly across mental health, rehabilitation, and advisory services.
🔍 Additional Notables
MOD – Replacement Secondary Submarine Radar and Support Value: £800K | Deadline: Not disclosed Type: Tender Focused on sustaining UK submarine radar systems.
Buyer Insight: Low-value but critical; supports long-term sustainment of underwater situational awareness capabilities.
MOD – Defence Serious Crime Command: Senior Investigating Officer (Major Incident Room) Value: £275K | Deadline: Not disclosed Type: Tender Specialist procurement to appoint a senior investigator for MOD Serious Crime Command.
Buyer Insight: Reinforces ongoing investment in internal security, oversight, and major incident investigation capabilities.
FCDO – Fire Response and Equipment Maintenance, British High Commission Nairobi Value: £63.2K | Deadline: Not disclosed Type: Tender Focus on security assurance for diplomatic posts abroad.
Buyer Insight: While small in value, these contracts signal continued outsourcing of emergency and protection infrastructure in geopolitically sensitive posts.
📌 What This Means for Talent
DDAD Framework → Heads of Data & AI, Principal Systems Architects, Framework Delivery Leads
Project Corvus → ISR Platform Engineers, Tactical UAS Leads, Flight Test & Demo Managers
UUV Procurement → Maritime Programme Directors, ISR Capability Managers, Naval Systems Leads
Combat Equipment Programmes → Category Leads, Procurement Heads, Defence Readiness Advisors
Mental Health Services → National Delivery Managers, Clinical Programme Directors, Strategic Health Advisors
Submarine Radar / Corvus / Crime Command → Domain SME Contractors, Secure Comms Engineers, Incident Investigators
📊 July 2025 at a Glance
- 13 relevant MOD, DE&S and FCDO tenders and notices tracked
- ~£539M+ in active opportunity
- 3 major strategic programmes launched
- 2 uncrewed systems procurement pipelines in motion
- Growing focus on security infrastructure and internal investigative capacity
🔦 Spotlight: Project Corvus
The £130M Corvus programme is a critical part of the UK’s Tactical Deep Find roadmap — and its first major test of a reformed defence acquisition process. Replacing the Watchkeeper fleet, it calls for a next-gen UAS with persistent surveillance, real-time ISTAR delivery, and resilient operation in GNSS-denied environments. Expect competition from UK-based integrators, UAS platform providers, and ISR specialists with deployable field capabilities.
📈 Trends to Watch
- Rising investment in battlefield autonomy, decision dominance, and long-range surveillance
- Ongoing lifecycle support for land and underwater ISR
- Sustained pressure on readiness, PPE, and logistics contracts
- Subtle but significant procurement in internal security and investigative capability
At Banner Lane, we use this intelligence to anticipate capability build-outs and support our clients with targeted talent acquisition.
If you’re scaling post-award or planning ahead of major frameworks, we’re happy to help.
Get in touch.
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