This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Award

27 Apr 2026 at 14:26

Award

26 Feb 2026 at 14:02

Award

01 Aug 2025 at 16:31

Planning

01 Aug 2025 at 12:57

Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process for the Technical Working Environment (TWE3) contract involves the central government authority, Defence Equipment and Support, located in Bristol, United Kingdom. The procurement, valued at £9.5 million, focuses primarily on services related to the repair, refurbishment, and design of temporary structures capable of supporting military operations under extreme weather conditions. The industry category includes Repair and maintenance services of electrical and mechanical building installations. This directly awarded contract, initiated on 11th March 2026, runs until 11th March 2029 with options to extend for up to three more years. The contract is complete and involves Rubb Buildings Limited, a small to medium-sized enterprise specialising in military shelter construction, serving as the supplier.

This tender offers robust business growth opportunities for companies involved in military infrastructure, specifically those skilled in designing, repairing, and maintaining technical shelters. Businesses with experience in delivering robust solutions for defence environments could find this contract particularly suitable. SMEs with technical expertise and the ability to handle repairs and refurbishment at a level beyond the capacity of the RAF 5001 Squadron could benefit significantly. Additionally, the provision and maintenance of technical documentation required for ongoing operational deployments present a valuable niche for businesses focused on technical writing and documentation services within the defence sector.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Title

715124450 TWE 3

Notice Description

TWE is a temporary structure designed to provide a safe and ambient working environment including extreme and austere weather conditions. TWE can house a fully armed Attack Aircraft in temperatures ranging from -10 Celsius up to 50 Celsius whilst maintaining an internal temperature of 26 Celsius. TWE can also withstand wind speeds of up to 90mph and snow load of up to 80kg/m2 TWE shelters are flexible in their approach allowing a wide spectrum of capabilities to be housed and maintained within them varying from fast jets, Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) to the CH-47 Chinook heavy lift rotary wing aircraft to ordnance of varying profiles and dimensions, and varying characteristics. The current capability consists of; * 25M x 40m RES (21.7m Heli Door width) (16) - Are typically fitted with a Heli-door, Roller Shutter Door at the rear and are 40m long. These typically house helicopters and UAVs. * 25M x 40m RES (18.75m Heli Door width) (2) - Are typically fitted with a Heli-door, Roller Shutter Door at the rear and are 40m long. These typically house helicopters and UAVs. * 25M x 100m RES (1) - Are typically fitted with a Heli-door, Roller Shutter Door at the rear and are 100m long. These typically house helicopters and UAVs. * 20M RES (67) - Typically support fast jet aircraft and are fitted with Trident doors which open and close like an eyelid * 25M Sunshade (4) - A hangar with no side walls or door ends, these are used to shelter helicopters and UAVs from the elements when sitting at the end of a runway on high readiness * 18M Sunshade (14) - A hangar without side walls or door ends, these are used to shelter fast jets from the elements when sitting at the end of a runway on high readiness. * ECASS (8) - These Environmentally controlled armament storage shelters are 9.1m x 16m in size and are used for armament storage; they are fitted with large heavy metal doors. The shelters are currently in service predominantly in the UK, Europe and the Middle East, supporting various operations. The scope of this procurement is: 1. Design services - The contractor is required to manage all aspects of component obsolescence, requirements for redesign/modification/upgrade of the systems and safety and legislative governance to meet the required ALARP status. 2. Repair and Refurbishment Activity - The Contractor is required to conduct repairs on the equipment that are beyond the capacity or capability of the maintainer (RAF 5001 Squadron) and to conduct routine scheduled refurbishment activity. 3. Provision and maintenance of Technical Documentation - The Contractor is required to provide technical data and drawings for the TWE capability to enable unit lines repairs in support of on-going operational deployments. 4. Option for the provision of additional equipment. - The contract is required to provide a commercial mechanism for purchases from wider defence.

Procurement Information

TWE is a temporary structure designed to provide a safe and ambient shelter system to provide a weatherproof working environment, including protection from extreme and austere weathers. TWE can house a fully armed Attack Aircraft in a range of temperatures. TWE can also withstand high wind speeds and heavy snow loads. TWE shelters are flexible in their approach allowing a wide spectrum of capabilities to be housed and maintained within them, including fast jets, Unmanned Air Systems (UAS), and helicopters. It is considered that this contract can be placed with Rubb Buildings Ltd using the Direct Award in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 Schedule 5 Paragraph 6 for technical reasons. The requirement for in-service support and additional equipment can only be placed with Rubb Buildings Ltd for the following reasons 1. Rubb Buildings Ltd are the OEM and the DA for the TWE equipment. An alternative supplier, nor the Authority would have access to the necessary technical documentation or the requisite knowhow to have a sufficient technical understanding of the equipment and to be able to understand or support the safety case for repairs and modifications. LSC do not have access to this technical documentation. 2. To conduct MRO Level 4 repairs the contractor requires a considerable number of jigs and specialist tools for the TWE equipment which have been manufactured as required by the OEM throughout the lifetime of the capability. The Authority does not own, nor have user rights to any information pertaining to these jigs and specialist tools. Any redesign of such jigs and tools by an alternative supplier would be considered to increase potential risks associated with the equipment. The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) would not undersign the specifications and safety certifications of parts and components manufactured or sourced by other economic operators. The OEM would not undersign the Safety Case for its TWE structures with the input from other suppliers. The OEM would not provide IPR or technical information and know-how to other economic operators, or collaborate with other manufacturers that aimed to provide alternative designs to the authority. The authority would be at risk of operating TWE outside the safety case if other economic operators were to provide non-OEM TWE components. In addition the installing and maintaining RAF Squadron (5001) would not receive training or technical updates from the OEM if components from other suppliers were to be included in TWE installations, which would add to the safety risks.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-056b63
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038148-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

45 - Construction work

50 - Repair and maintenance services


CPV Codes

45216230 - Military shelter construction work

50710000 - Repair and maintenance services of electrical and mechanical building installations

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£8,000,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£8,000,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£8,000,000 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
27 Apr 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
4 Aug 2025Expired
Award Date
1 Aug 202510 months ago
Contract Period
11 Mar 2026 - 11 Mar 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
DEFENCE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPORT
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BRISTOL
Postcode
BS34 8JH
Post Town
Bristol
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK5 West of England
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK52 Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire
Delivery Location
Not specified

Local Authority
South Gloucestershire
Electoral Ward
Stoke Park & Cheswick
Westminster Constituency
Filton and Bradley Stoke

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

RUBB BUILDINGS

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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