---
title: "PROVISION AND SUPPORT OF A BODY ARMOUR LOAD CARRIAGE SYSTEM (BALCS)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04467a"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04467a"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04467a.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04467a.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE/DE&S"
published: "2026-04-24"
---

# PROVISION AND SUPPORT OF A BODY ARMOUR LOAD CARRIAGE SYSTEM (BALCS)

Buyer: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE/DE&S  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04467a

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## Summary

The Ministry of Defence/DE&S, headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom, has been actively involved in the provision and support of a Body Armour Load Carriage System (BALCS) for the Air Defence Environment. The procurement process, marked as ongoing as of April 2026, follows a "negotiated without publication of a contract notice" method, due to exclusive rights and technical reasons surrounding the equipment. This contract, awarded to Level Peaks Associates Ltd., involves the supply of protective and safety clothing, with specific focus areas including flying clothing and anti-ballistic garments. The contract signed on 24th March 2026 is valued at approximately £11.13 million and continues to be active.

This tender offers an established market for businesses involved in manufacturing protective gear and logistics support services. Although limited in competitive opportunity, primarily due to intellectual property rights and technical requirements, it showcases significant investment in military-grade protective clothing. Suppliers with existing relationships or capabilities in defence industry standards, particularly those experienced with military aviation requirements and through-life Integrated Logistics Support, are well-positioned to leverage potential subcontracting opportunities. Companies aiming to enhance their presence in defence equipment supply chains may find strategic partnership or support roles beneficial, given the highly specialised nature of the contract.

## Notice

The provision of continuing support of the Body Armour Load Carriage System (BALCS) for the Air Defence Environment

### Lot Information

Lot 1

1. The Air Commodities Delivery Team (ACDT) within Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), part of the UK Ministry of Defence, ("the Authority") intends to award a Contract to Level Peaks Associates Ltd (LPA) ("the Contractor") for the provision of continuing support of the Body Armour Load Carriage System (BALCS) for the Air Defence Environment. 2. The contract will be for a maximum of seven (7) years. The estimated contract value is circa PS11M. 3. The purpose of the Contract is to procure, upgrade and maintain the current equipment provided by a through life Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) solution including but not limited to Servicing, Post Design Services & Maintenance.

Options: Two (2) costed 1-year options, which will follow the initial five (5) year contract period.

### Procurement Information

1. The Air Commodities Delivery Team (ACDT) within Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), part of the UK Ministry of Defence, ("the Authority") intends to award a Contract to Level Peaks Associates Ltd (LPA) ("the Contractor") for the provision of continuing support of the Body Armour Load Carriage System (BALCS) for the Air Defence Environment. 2. The contract will be for a maximum of seven (7) years. The estimated contract value is circa PS11M. 3. The purpose of the Contract is to procure, upgrade and maintain the current equipment provided by a through life Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) solution including but not limited to Servicing, Post Design Services & Maintenance. 4. In accordance with regulation 4 of the Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/697) this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 as amended (in particular by SI 2019/697 and SI 2020/1450). Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate. It is considered that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (in accordance with the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 for technical reasons. 5. LPA possesses the relevant technical knowledge and holds the sole distribution rights for the provision of BALCS related equipment to the UK Ministry of Defence. The Authority has insufficient rights to pass the necessary data and information to a third party to undertake the requirement, hence LPA is the only economic operator that can provide continued support including to required Military Aviation Authority (MAA) airworthiness standards and certification of the safety and interoperability of the equipment necessary for through-life maintenance.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037503-2026 |
| 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 | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 24 Apr 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 7 Mar 2024 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £20,280,833 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | MINISTRY OF DEFENCE/DE&S |
| Additional buyers | MINISTRY OF DEFENCE |
| Locality | BRISTOL |
| Post town | Bristol |
| Postcode | N/A |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK5 West of England |
| ITL 3 | TLK52 Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire |
| Local authority | South Gloucestershire |
| Electoral ward | Stoke Park & Cheswick |
| Westminster constituency | Filton and Bradley Stoke |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 2 |
| Supplier names | LEVEL PEAKS; LEVEL PEAKS ASSOCIATES |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 18 - Clothing, footwear, luggage articles and accessories
- 35 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment

### Codes

- 18132000 - Flying clothing
- 18143000 - Protective gear
- 35113400 - Protective and safety clothing
- 35815000 - Garments for anti-ballistic protection

## Release History

- 24 Apr 2026 at 10:37 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037503-2026
- 7 Mar 2024 at 15:27 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/007382-2024

## Notice URLs

- http://www.contracts.mod.uk

## 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-04467a. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04467a.json.