A Singapore-based manufacturer, ST Engineering Advanced Material Engineering, has will win a contract worth almost £66 million to supply the British military with 40mm grenades, according to a contract award notice.
The competition, run by Defence Equipment and Support, covers nine variants of 40mm high and low velocity grenades, the notice said, with the contract valued at £65.84 million excluding VAT, or £82.3 million including VAT. The award decision was taken on 20 March 2026, with the contract expected to be signed on 7 July and to run for five years, to July 2031. The notice carries an option for the Ministry of Defence to buy additional quantities of munitions during that period.
Three tenders were received and assessed in the final stage, with ST Engineering’s bid chosen ahead of two unsuccessful suppliers, NIOA Nominees and Ian Edgar (Liverpool). The notice was later corrected to record the prime supplier as ST Engineering Advanced Material Engineering, after the authority initially named GTDS Europe, which it clarified acts as the authorised representative of the winning bidder rather than the contractor itself.
40mm grenades are fired from under-barrel launchers fitted to rifles, from standalone launchers and from automatic grenade launchers, and form a staple of infantry firepower. High and low velocity natures suit different weapons and engagement ranges, with low velocity rounds used in hand-held launchers and high velocity rounds in heavier, mounted systems. The contract locations listed in the notice span Singapore, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, reflecting the international supply chain behind the order, which was run under the rules covering defence and security procurement.
The award places a five-year supply of a core infantry munition with a Singapore-headquartered manufacturer, with the two unsuccessful bidders registered in the United Kingdom.
Publication of the award notice opens a standstill period of at least eight working days before the contract can be signed, a step required under the Procurement Act for awards of this kind. Once signed in July, the contract sets the framework against which the nine grenade variants will be delivered to the British armed forces over the following five years.
Sick of hearing that our defense is spending money outside the UK for equipment all the time. When we have mass unemployment,we should be building them here in our country paying British workers who in return pay tax back into the system. No wonder the countries debt is so high when we keep buying from outside all the time.. At this rate we will be owned by another country as borrowing is getting out of hand
Andy …take a breath mate! or you’ll bust something!
There aren’t any 40mm grenade manufactures of scale in the UK. Ian Edgar is a distributor, not a munitions manufacturer, if they had won all they would be doing is UK assembly, quality assurance, and distribution logistics; according to UK Gov.. NIOA Nominees is Australian, would also not have involved any physical UK munitions production. While NIOA is a massive global munitions powerhouse that actually owns heavy manufacturing plants, unlike Ian Edgar, those factories are located entirely outside the UK.
So its down to scale, saving money and “soft power” … Soft power, geopolitics, and deep-rooted strategic alliances that played a massive role in this decision.
Plus, Andy.
75% OF UK DEBT IS OWNED BY THE UK, ONLY AROUND 26.5% IS FOREIGN OWNED.
The VAST MAJORITY OF THE DEBT IS OWNED DOMESTICALLY AND DENOMINATED IN BRITISH POUNDS.
The UK is at a very low risk of a foreign debt crisis. If a country owes money in a foreign currency, like US Dollars, to foreign banks, it can easily go bankrupt. Because the UK borrows in its own currency, mostly from its own institutions, it retains a massive amount of financial control.
Sorry for shouting, but some times you have to cut through the noise.
“as borrowing is getting out of hand” Rich and delicious irony here on UKDJ … I think this is/was the reason Rachel Reeves as the Chancellor of the Exchequer has been trying to steady and pay off the debt by curtailing budgets.
RIP Dame Penelope Keith.
“We have an established order in this Close, Barbara! A way of life!”
Where maybe, the UKDJ is a metaphor for the “Close” in Surbiton. wtf!