---
title: "Project Trilobite - Underwater Positioning Trials"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0401bf"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0401bf"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0401bf.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0401bf.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE"
published: "2023-09-18"
---

# Project Trilobite - Underwater Positioning Trials

Buyer: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0401bf

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## Summary

The Ministry of Defence has recently awarded a contract for the procurement of an upgrade to existing Teledyne autonomous underwater vehicles for R&D trials to support Royal Navy’s future operational capabilities. The project, named Project Trilobite - Underwater Positioning Trials, falls under the goods category with a focus on unmanned underwater vehicles. The procurement method used was a limited negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice. The contract was signed on 18th September 2023, with a value of £429,003. The buying organisation, Ministry of Defence, is located in Portsmouth, UK.

This tender represents an opportunity for businesses, especially those involved in military research and technology or manufacturing specialized equipment for research purposes. Companies with expertise in unmanned underwater vehicles and autonomous systems would be well-suited to compete. The Ministry of Defence's procurement stage has now reached the award phase, providing a chance for suppliers to engage in ongoing or potential subcontracting opportunities for the Project Trilobite - Underwater Positioning Trials, led by Teledyne Marine based in the United States.

## Notice

Procurement of an upgrade to existing Teledyne autonomous underwater vehicles for the purposes of R&D trials to support Royal Navy's concepts for future operational capabilities.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The Royal Navy needs to upgrade an existing Teledyne autonomous underwater vehicles for the purposes of R&D trials to support Royal Navy's concepts for future operational capabilities.

### Procurement Information

It is considered that this contract can be placed using the negotiated procedure without prior publication pursuant to Article 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011, as amended. The Authority requires the upgrade to upgrade an existing Teledyne autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for trial purposes. This particular asset is required for the trial as it allows interoperability with existing systems on other sizes and classes of vessels. Teledyne is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the existing AUV and has unique technical know-how required for the upgrade. In these circumstances the Authority considers that competition is absent for technical reasons.The goods and services procured under this contract are solely for the purposes of R&D to support Royal Navy's concepts for future operational capabilities. The requirement does not include procurement at production quantity scale. Subject to contract, any future work to procure at scale shall be tendered through industry.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027542-2023 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Negotiated without publication of a contract notice |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 18 Sep 2023 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 17 Sep 2023 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £429,003 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | MINISTRY OF DEFENCE |
| Locality | PORTSMOUTH |
| Post town | Not specified |
| Postcode | N/A |
| Country | Not specified |
| ITL 1 | Not specified |
| ITL 2 | Not specified |
| ITL 3 | Not specified |
| Local authority | Not specified |
| Electoral ward | Not specified |
| Westminster constituency | Not specified |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | TELEDYNE MARINE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 35 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment
- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 35512400 - Unmanned underwater vehicles
- 73410000 - Military research and technology

## Release History

- 18 Sep 2023 at 16:15 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027542-2023

## Notice URLs

- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence
- https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ministry-of-defence-commercial-commercial-x

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0401bf. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0401bf.json.