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UK05 - Validation and Review of the Army's Physical Employment Test

Ministry of Defence

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

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09 Sep 2026 at 14:53

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Ministry of Defence is procuring specialist research and validation services to review the Army’s Physical Employment Test, formerly called the Role Fitness Test (Soldier). The work will assess whether the test remains operationally relevant, scientifically valid, legally defensible, proportionate and practical against current military tasks and employment demands. It includes re-validating findings from earlier Army contracts and reviewing the evidence, methodology, technical reports, assumptions and development history underpinning the existing test. The procurement is for services, classified under medical education services. The work is for the Ministry of Defence and relates to the Army’s physical employment assessment arrangements. The requirement is a single lot and is identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises, although the selected supplier is the University of Chichester.

The procurement is complete and the University of Chichester has been selected for the contract. It was awarded through a direct award under the Procurement Act 2023, using the absence of competition for technical reasons route. The Ministry of Defence stated that the university holds the relevant background, technical knowledge, original testing work, research materials and development history, including comparable work for the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and NATO. The award date is 9 September 2026. The gross awarded value is £360,000, including VAT, with a net value of £300,000. The contract period is from 30 September 2026 to 1 April 2028. A contract signature milestone is scheduled for 30 September 2026.

This procurement indicates demand for suppliers able to carry out rigorous occupational fitness and military human-performance research, rather than routine training or general consultancy. A credible competitor for a future requirement would need expertise in designing and validating physical employment tests, analysing evidence against real operational tasks, and producing findings that are scientifically robust, proportionate and legally defensible. Relevant experience with defence organisations, military roles or comparable high-performance employment settings would be valuable, particularly where work involves re-validating established assessment systems. The requirement also shows the importance of being able to manage historic research evidence, methodologies, technical reports, assumptions and development records, and to translate them into a defensible contemporary assessment. Organisations with academic, medical education, exercise science or applied military research capability may be well placed to compete.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

UK05 - Validation and Review of the Army's Physical Employment Test

Notice Description

This requirement is to conduct a validation and review of the Army's Physical Employment Test, formally known as the Role Fitness Test (Soldier), to ensure it remains fit for purpose, evidence-based, and legally defensible.

Procurement Information

The Ministry of Defence are seeking to place a direct award contract under PA23 with the University of Chichester. The purpose of the contract will be to re-validate the findings produced by University of Chichester under previous Army contracts to determine whether the Army's Physical Employment Test and Role Fitness Test (Soldier) remain operationally relevant, scientifically valid, legally defensible, proportionate, and practicable against contemporary military tasks and employment demands. The University possesses the required background and technical knowledge/experience to undertake the work required and have conducted similar work for the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and NATO. They also conducted the original testing which underpins the current PES and RFT(S) and hold the existing research, methodology, technical reports, assumptions and development history for the requirement. As such the MOD have opted to utilise Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023: Abscence of competition for technical reasons for this procurement.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f5cf
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085460-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK5 - Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80320000 - Medical education services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£300,000 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
9 Sep 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
30 Sep 2026 - 1 Apr 2028 1-2 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Ministry of Defence
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
ANDOVER
Postcode
SP11 8HJ
Postcode Area
Salisbury
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ3 Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ36 Central Hampshire
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Test Valley
Electoral Ward
Andover Millway
Westminster Constituency
North West Hampshire

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

University of Chichester

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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