---
title: "Floats and Gliders"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04e545"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04e545"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04e545.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04e545.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE"
published: "2025-03-26"
---

# Floats and Gliders

Buyer: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04e545

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## Summary

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has completed a procurement process for the purchase of unmanned underwater vehicles classified under CPV 35512400. This specific tender, entitled "Floats and Gliders," falls within the goods category and involves the procurement of 40 disposable autonomous commercial profiling floats from Teledyne Webb Research, a Business Unit of Teledyne Instruments, Inc. The contract, valued at £1,110,000 excluding VAT, is intended to enhance oceanographic data collection vital for the Royal Navy's Theatre Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capabilities. The procurement stages involved a limited method due to technical reasons, ensuring compatibility with existing assets, and the contract was awarded on 28th February 2025. The project supports the Royal Navy's objective of building Oceanographic Intelligence to sustain and enhance their operational effectiveness globally.

This procurement bears significant potential for businesses specializing in oceanographic instruments and commercial profiling floats. Companies with expertise in manufacturing underwater vehicles and related technology that support national defence objectives could find lucrative opportunities in such tenders. The involvement of the Ministry of Defence and the specifics of the procurement method highlight the importance of technical expertise and existing infrastructure compatibility. Businesses capable of meeting these stringent requirements, particularly those with existing relationships or complementary technologies, stand to benefit significantly from contracts aimed at supporting high-stakes, operationally critical objectives within the defence sector.

## Notice

Project HECLA has previously procured a stockpile (x125) of disposable oceanographic profiling floats (OPFs) known as the APEX Argo profiling floats and routinely deploys them in support of oceanographic COLLECT. These OPF enables COMOPS to SUSTAIN, ENHANCE, PREPARE and UNDERSTAND the ocean environment globally to build the Oceanographic Intelligence and best deliver assets to effect Theatre Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) in the most critical areas. The requirement to collect Oceanographic data is enduring.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Project HECLA has previously procured a stockpile (x125) of disposable oceanographic profiling floats (OPFs) known as the APEX Argo profiling floats and routinely deploys them in support of oceanographic COLLECT. These OPF enables COMOPS to SUSTAIN, ENHANCE, PREPARE and UNDERSTAND the ocean environment globally to build the Oceanographic Intelligence and best deliver assets to effect Theatre Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) in the most critical areas. The requirement to collect Oceanographic data is enduring.

Options: Additional purchases

### Procurement Information

The Royal Navy, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a 2 year contract with a value of PS1,110,000 Ex VAT to Teledyne Webb Research for the purchase of 40 disposable autonomous commercial profiling floats to the Royal Navy. In accordance with the provisions of The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 SI No. 2020/1319, this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) as amended (in particular by SI 2020/1319). 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 32(5)(b) of the PCR 2015 because competition is absent for technical reasons. This is because Royal Navy needs to be able to arrange for additional deliveries by the original supplier which are intended either as a partial replacement of supplies or installations or as the extension of existing supplies or installations where a change of supplier would oblige the contracting authority to acquire supplies having different technical characteristics which would result in incompatibility or disproportionate technical difficulties in operation and maintenance. A contract with a different supplier would result in incompatibility with currently owned RN assets with resulting unacceptable differences in terms of data and maintenance as well as with US assets whose operational goals require shared data and usage. This would have an unacceptable impact on Geospatial Intelligence sharing with the US. The current systems have a proved accredited data path which enables support to current and future operations and this can only be met by Teledyne Webb Research as no alternative or substitutes can be used for interoperability reasons.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011425-2025 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 26 Mar 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 20 Feb 2025 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £1,110,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| 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 | 2 |
| Supplier names | TELEDYNE INSTRUMENTS, INC. TRADING AS TELEDYNE WEBB RESEARCH; TELEDYNE WEBB RESEARCH, A BUSINESS UNIT OF TELEDYNE INSTRUMENTS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 35 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment
- 38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

### Codes

- 35512400 - Unmanned underwater vehicles
- 38290000 - Surveying, hydrographic, oceanographic and hydrological instruments and appliances

## Release History

- 26 Mar 2025 at 21:38 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011425-2025
- 20 Feb 2025 at 15:28 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006328-2025

## 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-04e545. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04e545.json.