The Ministry of Defence has awarded a £125 million framework contract to Cook Defence Systems (CDS) for the supply of heavy armoured vehicle tracks and associated items.
The deal, announced on 27 June 2025, covers a two-year period with an optional one-year extension.
The contract was issued by the Defence Equipment & Support Land Equipment Vehicle Support Team (VST), based in Telford. CDS, headquartered in Stanhope, is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Design Authority (DA) for the tracks in question. As such, it holds the technical knowledge necessary to design, support, and maintain the equipment across the UK’s Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) fleet.
According to the published justification, the award was made without prior publication of a contract notice under regulation 16 of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011. The MoD cited technical necessity and operational risk as the basis for the direct award, explaining that only CDS is able to supply compatible track systems without compromising platform safety or increasing logistical burdens.
The Ministry stated that procuring alternative track components from another supplier would create “a disproportionate cost and significant logistical and technical burden” on front line units. It also warned of potential risks if track types were mixed within the same fleet, including invalidating safety certifications and complicating maintenance and training requirements.
Babcock Land Defence Ltd is acting as the procurement agent on behalf of the MoD for this contract.
Cook Defence Systems is a long-standing supplier of track systems for British Army vehicles and has provided track technology for platforms such as Challenger, Warrior and Ajax. The company is the UK’s only specialist manufacturer of tank tracks and is a key supplier to several NATO nations.
Just need some armoured vehicles to use them now…
They would be the associated items 😂
Better make tracks then!
That’s a lot of money for two tracks!
Should be rubber
It is on some vehicles but I don’t know why it isn’t on all of them I also wonder if metal tracks also provide a little bit on mine protection as well , I would be interested in hearing from anyone who knows why some are rubber and some not and or if metal tracks help with mine strikes
Whilst this is great news, one wonders how many hops and how much paperwork, they needed to complete to get the follow on contract.
One hopes that DE&S are getting smarter, and just looking for “value for money” in regards to the contract, rather than making Cook Defence providing all the nugatory paperwork in regards to processes and policies, that haven’t changed since their previous contract.
Back in the late 90s, the Mobility Section within the Infantary Trials and Development Unit (ITDU) based at Warminster conducted trials on the Warior track pad retention system in order minimise the amount of servicable tracks being written off due to the acumilation of debris building up and solidifying over the track pad retention nut within its housing. Crews were finding it to be a laborious and a time consuming task to remove the concrete like compressed material covering the pad nuts to fit new pads thus extending the life of the tracks. One systems triled comprised of two coiled sprung retention pins driven and released from the sides of each track link which cancelled out the track pad nut system altogether. I’m not aware of the outcome of this partiqular trial, has anyone got any information on it?