The UK has the fifth biggest defence budget in the world, making it an extremely lucrative market for defence suppliers that want to win public sector and MOD contracts.
The MOD wants to work with suppliers of all sizes and in virtually all sectors to achieve their procurement goals. If your SME business wants to win more work with the public sector you should consider looking for MOD contract opportunities in the areas listed below.
There are many MOD contracts available to defence suppliers with new opportunities arising frequently. Below are just a few of the categories for which the MOD requires suppliers.
Technology
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has stated in the past that he plans to modernise UK defence and give service personnel an “edge” when in combat through the use of innovative technology. To that end, the Defence Innovation Initiative, comprising the Defence Innovation Fund and the Defence and Security Accelerator, was launched in 2016 to develop and exploit innovative technologies developed by the private sector.
The Defence in Numbers 2017 report estimated that the Defence Innovation Fund is valued at around £800m. This fund is dedicated to development and exploitation of innovative ideas. In addition, 1.2% of the core Defence budget is dedicated to Science and Technology, which makes this an area which technology businesses of all sizes should explore.
Equipment
The Ministry of Defence: The Equipment Plan 2017 to 2027 has estimated that spending on equipment and associated support in the ten years is projected to be £179.7 billion; this includes a £6 billion contingency. £84.7 billion will be spent on the procurement of new equipment.T
he Equipment and Support category includes the spend for:
- Submarines
- Land equipment
- Ships
- Air Support
- Combat Air
- Air Support
- Weapons
- Helicopters
- Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition & Reconnaissance
Infrastructure
It is estimated that the Defence Infrastructure Organisation spends £3 billion every year purchasing goods and services that support defence personnel on a day to day basis, across the UK and overseas.
MOD contracts that fall under the defence infrastructure category include:
- Technical infrastructure
- Utility management
- Property management (disposals, leases, planning, etc)
- Estate sustainability
- Waste management
- Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF) for the estate
- Housing projects
- Facilities management
- Construction and maintenance
How to find MOD contracts?
If the information above has given your business something to think about, then now is the time to put a plan in place. With so many MOD contracts available, finding the ones that are relevant to your business can be difficult.
If you are looking for opportunities suited to your business, you can search more efficiently with DCI tender alerts.
Defence Tender Alerts
Our Tender Aerts tool will allow you to add CPV codes, specific keywords, the awarding body or country that you want to work with into your search. Your dedicated Account Manager will help you to set this up, making sure that you will never miss another opportunity that is suited to your business.
Once your profile is ready, we will send you daily email alerts containing the tender opportunities that match your search criteria and will therefore be ideal for your business.
Would you like to access Europe’s largest defence tenders database? Try it now with a free DCI trial.
