The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has launched a procurement process to secure a Protected and Modified Civilian Profile Vehicles (PaMCPV) Support Contract, valued between £0 and £14 million, according to a tender notice published on 21 February 2025.
The Specialist Vehicles and Uncrewed Land Systems (SVULS) Team within Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) intends to award a contract to a single supplier to provide in-service support for the MoD’s fleet of Civilian Armoured Vehicles (CAVs). This includes existing vehicles and future procurements under the PaMCPV Framework Agreement.
A PaMCPV is a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) vehicle modified for protection and operational requirements, with potential integrations of mission systems such as electronic countermeasures (ECM), communication equipment, and weapon mounts. The service contract will cover:
- Existing protected vehicles, including fully armoured Toyota Land Cruiser (LC) 200 series.
- Partially protected vehicles, such as the Toyota Land Cruiser 79 series.
- Future procurements, including light to medium commercial 4x4s, vans, and cars.
The initial contract will support approximately 150 vehicles, with potential expansion to a maximum of 400. The agreement will include spare parts provision, repairs, maintenance, post-design services, technical documentation, and training.
The procurement follows a Restricted Procedure, allowing a maximum of eight suppliers to advance to the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage. The deadline for DPQQ submissions is 25 April 2025, with the contract expected to commence on 1 October 2026.
Suppliers will require Facility Security Clearance (FSC) due to the classified nature of the project. Cyber risk has been assessed as low, with all submissions required to be made through the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP).
The PaMCPV Support Competition follows an indicative timeline, with key milestones including:
- ITT issue – 12 September 2025
- Tender submission deadline – 7 November 2025
- Preferred bidder notification – 16 January 2026
- Contract start date – 1 October 2026
Interested suppliers can access further details through the PaMCPV Support Supplier Guidance Document, available upon release of the Dynamic Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (DPQQ).
I was just discussing this very concept with a colleague at work. I wondered why HMG hadn’t sounded out civilian manufacturers or tested the industrial base to ascertain whether a large number of 4x4s could rapidly be procured to support a crash rearmament programme.
The fact the UK has tens of thousands of pick up trucks and robust 4x4s like Land Cruisers, Land Rover defenders, land rover discovery and ineos grenadiers means it should be a viable option.
I agree, it is something I discuss with my brother (ex TA). A 1000 civilian 4*4 SUV/crew vans/minibuses would provide a lot of interim strategic mobility to the leg infantry. Even if abandoned close to the front line it is a cost effective way of emergency deployment. Anything that doesn’t require special spare parts, maintenance, driving licenses or training would do a job much cheaper than bespoke platforms. These can carry a lot of troops, water, ammo batteries etc. and anything that saves the troops having to carry excessive loads over excessive distances is a massive win.
Land Rovers are pretty much the most unreliable vehicles being built today.
Mr Bell, this is not about procuring new CAVs. It’s about supporting the ones they’ve got.
Regardless of what the Chancellor says, defence spending will increase and depending on how the next six months pans out internationally a noticeable ramp-up can be expected. As with the years running up to WW2 a quiet preparation will be initiated as not to cause too much public consternation but it’s coming. We can no longer hang UK defence and foreign policy on Trump’s every word and nuance that would be crass, however, the picture is clear we are on our own to a greater extent than as a member of the EU. NATO’s mandate may get fuzzy around the edges as the US downgrades its importance to policy and budget leaving the the key pillars to fill the gaps. Contributors to this site have been in concert over the lack of urgency regarding defence spending so we are not surprised by the current state of our arsenal, however once in first gear no one gets stuck in like the Brits!
These are used by close protection teams at embassies (RMP or SFdepending on threat) on peacekkeping missions and by SF.
And the Rangers. And a couple of others I can think of.