---
title: "715112450 - Ballistic Testing Services - Personal Armour"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-056c18"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-056c18"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-056c18.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-056c18.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "DEFENCE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPORT"
published: "2026-01-29"
---

# 715112450 - Ballistic Testing Services - Personal Armour

Buyer: DEFENCE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPORT  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-056c18

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## Summary

The UK Ministry of Defence, through its Defence Equipment and Support organisation, has initiated an active procurement process for ballistic testing services related to personal armour. The procurement process, which follows a selective procedure under the Procurement Regulations 2024, aims to assess and award a contract for a comprehensive testing service platform. This service ensures that personal armour, including hard armour plates and helmets, meets required safety and performance standards. The procurement process is currently in the tender stage, with an expression of interest deadline set for 27th February 2026. The successful tenderer will start the contract on 29th July 2026, which will continue for five years with options to extend. The procurement requirements mandate that facilities conducting the testing must be UK-based, UKAS-accredited, and compliant with NATO standards to ensure compliance with national and international requirements.

This opportunity offers significant potential for businesses specialising in testing services, particularly those with experience in defence and security sectors. Companies with UKAS accreditation to ISO 17025 and capability to fulfil NATO standards, like NATO AEP-2920, will find themselves well-suited for this tender. SMEs capable of conducting high-quality ballistic testing and possessing an adaptable facility could leverage this contract not only for steady revenue for up to eight years but also to enhance their reputation by being associated with UK defence contracts. Furthermore, the requirement for flexible service readiness ensures that businesses can consistently provide value throughout the duration of the contract. This procurement represents an excellent growth opportunity for businesses looking to expand their credentials and operations in defence-related services.

## Notice

This Tender Notice outlines the Authority's intent to competitively assess, select and award a contract to deliver Ballistic Testing Services for Personal Armour to support new to service projects and ensure through life support of Personal Armour provided to its Armed Forces Personnel. The contract will have a headroom of PS10m (Inc VAT) and will be for 5 years with 3 x 1 optional years. The Ballistic Testing Service will serve as a dedicated platform to facilitate comprehensive testing and evaluation of Personal Armour systems. This service will encompass a wide range of protective equipment, including but not limited to Hard Armour Plates, Soft Armour Fillers, and Helmets. The testing process will ensure that these protective solutions meet established safety, durability, and performance standards under various conditions. By providing a structured and reliable pathway for ballistic testing, the service aims to support the development, validation, and certification of personal protective equipment, ensuring it meets operational requirements and offers optimal protection to users in diverse environments. For the provision of Ballistic Testing Services, it is a mandatory requirement that the contractor operates a facility located within the United Kingdom. This ensures accessibility, compliance with relevant UK regulations, and alignment with national security and operational standards. The ballistic testing will be conducted on an as-needed basis throughout the duration of the contract, with testing schedules determined by specific requirements or requests. The contractor must maintain readiness and flexibility to accommodate testing demands at any point during the contract period, ensuring timely and efficient service delivery to meet the needs of the programme. The Ballistic Testing Service competition mandates that participating laboratories must hold accreditation from the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to the ISO 17025 standard. This international standard specifies the general requirements for the competence, impartiality, and consistent operation of testing and calibration laboratories, ensuring the highest levels of quality and reliability in testing processes. Additionally, laboratories must demonstrate compliance with NATO AEP-2920, the Allied Engineering Publication that outlines the procedures and standards for evaluating the ballistic performance of personal armour systems. This dual requirement ensures that laboratories possess both the technical expertise and the operational capability to conduct ballistic testing to internationally recognised and NATO-specific standards, guaranteeing the accuracy, consistency, and credibility of the results. The competitive procurement will be managed in accordance with the Procurement Regulations 2024.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Options: The Authority may procure repeated Balistic test services

Renewal: Option 1: 5 Year Duration Option 2: 5 Years (+1, +1, +1) these options can be taken in any combination (e.g. 1+1, 2+1,11+2)

### Planning Information

As part of the market engagement for this competition, the DCC Survivability Team plan to visit the facilities in the UK that register interest. The type of information the team will be interested in and would like to understand further as part of these visits is likely to include the below: 
• Tour of the site, including a procedural walkthrough (no requirement for actual testing, but a step-by-step understanding of procedures based on facility capabilities).
• Range of testing services available (both in house and external)
• Standards, and certifications, traceability and licences
• Equipment (testing, measuring, calibrating etc)
• Environmental conditions and facilities 
• Storage Facilities
• How the facility measures uncertainty and how expanded uncertainty is calculated and assured.
• Disposal procedures 
• An understanding of facility personnel SQEP
• An understanding of past testing experiences
• Safe working procedures and practices
Please note, the release of this UK 2 Preliminary Market engagement Notice is not the formal start to the competition process. You will have an opportunity to participate in the Tender process when it formally starts with the release of the UK 4 Tender Notice, which will be advertised via the Defence Sourcing Portal and Find a Tender Service via the Central Digital Platform in the future. At this stage suppliers are only able to register
interest for the upcoming market engagement.
If you wish to take part please register your interest by emailing: rodney.gardiner114@mod.gov.uk and natalie.dean102@mod.gov.uk

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008118-2026 |
| Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Competitive flexible procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning, Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 29 Jan 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 15 Sep 2025 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 28 Jul 2026 - 1 May 2031 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £8,333,333 |
| Lots value | £8,333,333 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEFENCE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPORT |
| Locality | BRISTOL |
| Post town | Bristol |
| Postcode | BS34 8JH |
| 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 |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 35 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment
- 38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)
- 44 - Construction structures and materials; auxiliary products to construction (except electric apparatus)
- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 35815100 - Bullet-proof vests
- 38970000 - Research, testing and scientific technical simulator
- 44431000 - Cover plates
- 73111000 - Research laboratory services
- 73431000 - Test and evaluation of security equipment
- 73432000 - Test and evaluation of firearms and ammunition

## Release History

- 29 Jan 2026 at 14:50 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008118-2026
- 7 Aug 2025 at 13:35 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/046961-2025
- 4 Aug 2025 at 10:11 - Planning - UK1 - Pipeline Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/045549-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008118-2026
  29th January 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/046961-2025
  7th August 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/045549-2025
  4th August 2025 - Pipeline notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.contracts.mod.uk/
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/defence-equipment-and-support
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-056c18. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-056c18.json.