---
title: "Production and Installation of Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 Baseline Equipment for the Royal Navy's Type 26 Batch 2 Ships"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-049a56"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-049a56"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-049a56.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-049a56.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE"
published: "2025-12-03"
---

# Production and Installation of Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 Baseline Equipment for the Royal Navy's Type 26 Batch 2 Ships

Buyer: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-049a56

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## Summary

Defence Digital Commercial, a division of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the United Kingdom, recently awarded a contract to STS Defence Ltd for the production and installation of integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 baseline satellite communications equipment for the Royal Navy's Type 26 fleet Ships 4 to 8, focusing on Gosport, Hampshire. This procurement falls under the industry category of "goods," specifically satellite communications equipment, leveraging a limited procurement method due to technical reasons ensuring compatibility with MoD standards. This contract, began on 4th November 2025, carries a seven-year duration with embedded contractual timelines and a value of £1,166,772,105, signed within the broader Type 26 Ship Building Contract framework. The process is currently in the award stage, indicating the close of the formal procurement competition.

This strategic defence contract provides a significant growth opportunity for STS Defence Ltd and businesses with technical expertise in bespoke satellite communications systems. It strengthens partnerships and employs highly skilled technicians familiar with Ministry of Defence’s accreditation and operational requirements, presenting unique prospects for the specialised defence sector SMEs that can seamlessly collaborate on such technologically advanced projects. Companies engaged in defence communications and equipment design, particularly those with expertise or existing relationships within MoD frameworks, are well-positioned to compete in this highly specialised market. This endeavour encourages further innovation and advancement in national defence capabilities, though competition is limited due to the intricacies of technical standards and operational timelines essential for mission-critical defence applications.

## Notice

The production and installation of Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 baseline satellite communications equipment for the Royal Navy's T26 fleet Ships 4 to 8.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The production and installation of Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 baseline equipment (which consist of bespoke integrated satellite communications equipment) for the Royal Navy's T26 fleet Ships 4 to 8.

### Procurement Information

Defence Digital Commercial, part of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MoD), has awarded a contract for the production and installation of Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 baseline satellite communications equipment for the Royal Navy's T26 fleet Ships 4 to 8 to STS Defence Ltd. This equipment will provide a communications service to support Information Exchange Requirements (IER) for simultaneous voice and data. Please note, a Voluntary ex ante transparency notice has previously been published for this contract on the Find a Tender website, which can be seen here: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/029245-2024 STS Defence Limited have previously designed a bespoke UHF SATCOM 4.2 Design capability in partnership with SNXP Limited which is accredited for use by the MoD on the T26 Fleet. The installation of this capability in T26 Ship 1 was carried out by STS Defence Limited under a task on an existing MoD Contract. This Contract was competed, and STS Defence Limited was awarded the contract. Thereafter, the installation of this capability in T26 Ships 2 and 3 was directly awarded to STS Defence Limited under a separate contract for Technical Reasons pursuant to Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011, which is also applicable to this contract. Contractual timelines for the delivery of this Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 baseline equipment capability into T26 Ships 4 to 8 are already embedded within the existing Type 26 Ship Building Contract (Contract Ref. No. SHIPACQ036) as a requirement to enable repeat supply and fit. Only STS Defence and SNXP Limited have the technical ability and experience necessary to produce and install this Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 baseline equipment capability into T26 Ships 4 to 8 in a manner that is accredited for use by the MoD and meets the required timescales. It is not viable for another supplier to deliver an alternative design that meets the MoD's technical requirements within the necessary timescales. Further, the STS Defence/SNXP SATCOM design has been approved by Naval Command Headquarters (NCHQ) to ensure it is fit for use. This design and accreditation process took several years to complete. To bring in a third-party supplier to design new equipment, obtain MoD approval and accreditation for the new design and then build and install it on T26 Ships 4 to 8 would incur significant and disproportionate additional time and cost consequences to the MoD, which would also result in significant delays to Vessel Acceptance Date (the date by which MoD are required to have agreed that the newly built T26 Ship has been delivered to an acceptable level against the requirements defined in the T26 Ship Building Contract (Contract Ref. No. SHIPACQ036)), thereby causing an unacceptable capability gap to the Royal Navy.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079452-2025 |
| Notice type | Tender 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 | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 3 Dec 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 11 Sep 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 | £1,178,772,105 |

## 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 | CORSHAM |
| Post town | Swindon |
| Postcode | SN13 9NR |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire |
| ITL 3 | TLK72 Wiltshire |
| Local authority | Wiltshire |
| Electoral ward | Corsham Ladbrook |
| Westminster constituency | Chippenham |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | STS DEFENCE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 32 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment

### Codes

- 32531000 - Satellite communications equipment

## Release History

- 3 Dec 2025 at 15:45 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079452-2025
- 19 Sep 2024 at 14:36 - TenderUpdate - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030039-2024
- 12 Sep 2024 at 12:22 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/029245-2024

## Notice URLs

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/029245-2024
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence

## 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-049a56. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-049a56.json.