The Ministry of Defence has issued a preliminary market engagement notice for ballistic testing services to support both new-to-service projects and the ongoing support of personal armour used by Armed Forces personnel.
According to the notice, “the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) requires access to Ballistic Testing Services to support new to service projects and ensure through life support of Personal Armour provided to its Armed Forces Personnel.”
The MOD states that laboratories must be “UKAS accredited to ISO 17025, including NATO AEP 2920,” and that “for the purposes of Ballistic Testing Services the contractor will need to have a UK located facility.” The future competition will be for a contract with a ceiling value of £10 million including VAT, lasting five years with three optional one-year extensions. Testing will be conducted “throughout the length of the contract as and when it is required.”
As part of the engagement process, the Defence Clothing and Textiles (DCC) Survivability Team plans to visit interested UK facilities. The MOD notes that visits will include a “tour of the site, including a procedural walkthrough (no requirement for actual testing, but a step-by-step understanding of procedures based on facility capabilities),” along with reviews of standards, certifications, equipment, storage facilities, disposal procedures, and safe working practices.
Ballistic testing is essential for verifying that protective equipment, such as bullet-resistant vests, meets rigorous performance and safety requirements. By replicating real-world impacts under controlled conditions, testing ensures that armour can withstand specified threats while remaining reliable in operational environments.
The MOD makes clear that the release of this notice “is not the formal start to the competition process,” and that suppliers “will have an opportunity to participate in the Tender process when it formally starts with the release of the UK 4 Tender Notice.”
Suppliers must register interest by 12 September 2025 to take part in the market engagement phase.
UKDJ going into greater depth on MOD procurement. No bad thing in my opinion.
Surely when buying body armour it’s already pre tested by an independent source as part of the contract but no apparently the MOD needs to spend £10 million over five years doing more testing. I wonder how many staff officer and civil servant positions will then be required to interpret the data. I’m sure multiple power points will be created requiring senior offices to sit through multiple presentations so we better get more Generals and I’m sure we will end up with the exact same body armour they and any probably half of NATO has as well.
This is why we spend £60 billion a year and are short of everything, this is probably one of a thousand such nonsense contracts across the MOD previously done by in house teams for a fraction of the cost or just NCO’s trying out what is available from industry already.
Does anyone think Finland has a £10 million private consultancy contract for body armour testing.
I’m guessing not which is why they can get such a big well equipped army on a fraction of what ours sepends.
I’ll put this up there with the £10 million pound Ajax tow truck.
Spot on! Bring back Q, and the ‘brown coat’ brigade!
You are claiming the size of Finland’s army is all about lack of standards compliance and nothing to do with mandatory conscription? A bold claim.
This is like the 12 million vehicle fire extinguisher contract given to BAE, DSG Babcock formerly ABRO had been doing the work for years. BAE then subcontracted the work to Babcock. Cake for BAE, crumbs for Babcock.
Wiltshire Ballistic Services used to be the Go-To place for this kind of thing.
Many happy hours downthe Railway tunnel in Devizes. Where the first 40mm bushmaster was test fired before going on Swiss Warrior. Over pressure rounds, hand wound, and every body standing behind blast doors ..
Youll be fine, just wind the handle till it goes bang, in a very loud manner,
stuck in a little piece of railway history.
I did that …and lots more besides
Must be hard to sell body armour if you have not tested it, the old body armour ballistic plates had a problem with cracks, perhaps they went to cheapest supplier. If they bought from a USA Government supplier the testing would have been carried out and already paid for.