The Ministry of Defence has issued a £4 million tender for the in-service support of radome structures used to protect vital radar equipment across the UK and several overseas military sites.
The requirement, published under the title ADEWS/138: Provision of In-service Support for ADWiMS DT Radomes, seeks a supplier to deliver through-life engineering and safety assurance for at least 23 sites.
The contract will run for an initial three years beginning in March 2025, with options to extend by up to two further years. According to the tender, the selected supplier will be responsible for ensuring that “all work complies with industry standards and safety regulations.”
The radomes in question house both Air Traffic Management and Air Defence radar systems. They are located “primarily in the UK, including the Scottish Islands,” though the MOD confirms the estate also includes installations in “Cyprus and the Falkland Islands.”
The structures vary significantly in design and construction. The notice states that the existing radomes include “composite sandwich” and “solid GRP” (glass-reinforced plastic) types. The Defence estate is also “adding air supported radomes to the fleet,” which could signal an increasing use of inflatable or rapidly deployable systems. However, the notice cautions that “at this stage it is not known whether the air supported radomes will be included in the scope of this contract.”
The work will be managed from MOD Bristol and falls under the Air Defence and Early Warning Systems (ADEWS) programme. The tender makes clear that the requirement is for a “turnkey” support service across a geographically dispersed set of locations.
Is something wrong with the stated contract dates?
Radomes house more than just ATM and ADR, so assume this includes other Radome sites with other functions if the number is “at least 23 sites.”
Unless the various NATS sites which feed data to the MoD are included?