Babcock Land Defence, acting as agent to the UK Ministry of Defence, has awarded BAE Systems a four-year framework agreement worth £4 million for the supply of artillery, howitzer and armoured vehicle weapons system components, including parts for the 105mm Light Gun, according to a contract award notice published on the Find a Tender service.
The notice, published on 21 July 2026, records a direct award to BAE Systems GCS International Limited under the defence and security special regime. The contract is valued at £4 million excluding VAT, or £4.8 million including VAT, and is estimated to run from 11 August 2026 to 10 August 2030 with no options. The award decision was taken on 21 July, with the earliest contract signature date given as 11 August 2026.
According to the notice, the framework covers the supply of components codified to NATO Stock Numbers, with the contract intended to include around 499 NSNs provided in accordance with the manufacturer’s part number. Babcock Land Defence reserves the right to add further items of a similar nature to the contract after award. The agreement includes key performance indicators covering on-time delivery, non-conforming deliveries and new stores rejects, and the notice states that the contractor will ensure delivered articles meet the Ministry of Defence’s operational and strategic requirements.
The award sits under the Common Procurement Vocabulary classification for military vehicles and associated parts. The contracting authority is listed as the Ministry of Defence, with Babcock International named as the point of contact acting on the Authority’s behalf. BAE Systems GCS International Limited is registered at Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria.
The 105mm Light Gun referenced in the scope is the L118 and its L119 export variant, a towed field gun that has been in British Army service since the 1970s and remains a widely used artillery piece across a number of armed forces. The framework’s inclusion of Light Gun components comes amid renewed attention on the sustainment of British artillery holdings, with BAE Systems having separately signed a licensing agreement to support local manufacture of a Light Gun variant in Ukraine and continuing work to restore domestic artillery barrel production in Sheffield.
Mentioned in other article, a plan is afoot to replace the LG with 120mm mortar.
While dispensing with the 81mm from Infantry Battalions as well, I hope not all of them.
Seems wrong binning the 81mm?
Was announced last week Ukraine had signed an agreement to license build the L119 in Ukraine. Presumably this contract is for the parts they cant manufacture.
105mm Light Gun is a handy little piece of towed artillery, that has been knocking around since the 60’s.
What makes it a lethal 21st century weapon is mating it to Leonardo’s LINAPS (Laser Inertial Artillery Pointing System), enabling you to locate a firing target, return fire, and leave before the incoming artillery arrives !
Some news on whether that is included in the wider deal would make this interesting.
OT, but Royal Artillery, so of interest.
Following the announcement of the formation of 9 DRSB, to accompany the existing 1 and 3 DRSB, I made a FOIA request for that Brigade.
There are NO units currently falling under it’s command!
A Bde in name only, happily grandstanded.
Further, it was widely reported that 39RA was to, or had reformed, to enable each DRSB to have it’s own MLRS Regiment.
So I asked about 39 as well.
The Regiment currently does not exist, and MoD answered none of my 4 questions on Regimental structure or location and only confirmed that nothings changed since the Regiments disbandment.
Brigades without units, quite something eh? Hopefully reports have jumped the gun and it’ll reform in due course to fire the longer range OWE it was said 9 DRSB would use.