---
title: "ASH In-Service Support Transparency Notice"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-061363"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-061363"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-061363.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-061363.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEFENCE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPORT"
published: "2026-06-24"
---

# ASH In-Service Support Transparency Notice

Buyer: DEFENCE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPORT  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-061363

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## Summary

The public procurement contract for ASH In-Service Support was awarded by Defence Equipment and Support, a central government public authority based in Bristol, UK (BS34 8JH). The contract, intended for the MR Stealth and Performance Systems project, covers industry categories including Data Services and Security Software Packages, and is classified under defence security. The procurement stage is completed with a contract start date on 1st April 2026, and it is set to run until 31st March 2029, with the possibility of two one-year extensions. The award, valued at up to £2,857,548.41 (including VAT), was made through a direct procurement method due to unique technical requirements and significant risks involved with changing suppliers. EntServ UK Limited, a large-scale company stationed in Farnborough, UK, was selected as the supplier.

This contract creates significant business growth opportunities, particularly for large organisations specialising in software development and security. Businesses with expertise in data services and software packages, focused on threat detection or secure data handling, would find themselves well-positioned to compete for similar future contracts. The project involves sophisticated support and software services critical to national defence operations, underscoring a need for businesses capable of delivering high-security, high-reliability solutions. The specificity and tailored nature of the ASH system indicate that firms with a proven track record in complex IT solutions, especially in the public sector, would be ideally suited to compete for and fulfil such contracts.

## Notice

The Protect Delivery Team, part of the Ministry of Defence, has awarded a contract to Entserv UK Limited for ASH In-Service Support. ASH is software for the electronic Render Safe Procedure (RSP) for Ordnance Munition & Explosives (OME). The contract is for a period of up to 5 years (3 years plus 2 options to extend by a year) with value of up to PS2,857,548.41(incl. VAT) including options.

### Procurement Information

Reference 2026/S 000-013533 It is considered that this contract can be awarded under section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 because the direct award justification specified in paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 (technical reasons) applies. This is because a change in supplier would require a transfer of the disaster recovery servers and network link which would in turn require a new set of cyber security assurances and penetration testing. The ASH system would be unusable until this was complete as it would not be cyber secure. Due to the nature of the requirement this capability gap would introduce an unacceptable level of risk. Given the bespoke nature of the ASH system, the absence of alternative suppliers with the required technical expertise, and the significant operational and financial risks associated with transitioning to a new supplier, a direct award to Entserv UK Limited is the only viable option, there is no reasonable alternative.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/059281-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Planning, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 24 Jun 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 13 Feb 2026 |
| Award date | 13 Feb 2026 |
| Contract period | 31 Mar 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £2,278,374 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £2,381,290 |
| Contracts value | £2,381,290 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## 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 |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ENTSERV |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 48 - Software package and information systems
- 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

### Codes

- 48731000 - File security software package
- 48732000 - Data security software package
- 48750000 - Storage media loading software package
- 48771000 - General utility software package
- 48782000 - Storage management software package
- 48783000 - Content management software package
- 72300000 - Data services

## Release History

- 24 Jun 2026 at 09:47 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/059281-2026
- 19 Mar 2026 at 17:16 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025468-2026
- 13 Feb 2026 at 15:25 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/013533-2026
- 30 Jan 2026 at 16:02 - Planning - UK1 - Pipeline Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008617-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/059281-2026
  24th June 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025468-2026
  19th March 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/013533-2026
  13th February 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008617-2026
  30th January 2026 - Pipeline notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- 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-061363. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-061363.json.
