The Ministry of Defence is considering whether to launch a replacement competition for an uncrewed surface vessel capability after formally terminating procurement activity under Project Lily.
In a written parliamentary answer published on 11 February, Defence Minister Luke Pollard responded to a question from Conservative MP James Cartlidge on whether a new competition would be started to replace the programme.
Pollard said Project Lily had been intended to deliver an uncrewed surface vessel and an associated remote operations centre capability, but confirmed the programme had now been cancelled.
He stated: “Project Lily related to a proposed procurement to deliver an uncrewed surface vessel and associated remote operations centre capability.” Pollard added: “Project Lily was cancelled following a decision to consider alternative internal options to meet this requirement.”
He said the Ministry was still considering what approach to take next, including whether a replacement competition would be pursued. “The decision on whether to pursue a replacement competition or an alternative approach is under consideration in line with procurement rules.”
He added that if any future procurement was required, it would be announced through standard channels. “Should any future procurement be required, details of the opportunity will be published in the usual way via the Defence Sourcing Portal.”
The response follows earlier UK Defence Journal reporting that the MoD had formally terminated plans to procure an uncrewed surface vessel under Project Lily, ending a programme expected to deliver a contractor-supported autonomous maritime platform for global operations. A termination notice published by Defence Equipment and Support confirmed that the contract would not be signed and that the procurement was no longer going ahead, with the decision taken on 16 January 2026.
Project Lily had previously been trailed in a procurement pipeline notice issued in May 2025 under the Procurement Act 2023. That notice outlined plans to acquire a single commercial off-the-shelf uncrewed surface vessel, alongside a dedicated Remote Operations Centre, intended to support year-round operations in open ocean environments. The estimated value of the programme was £27.3 million including VAT, with a planned contract duration of four years from January 2026 to January 2030.
The proposed capability was intended to support military data-gathering tasks, with a particular focus on hydrographic and oceanographic activity. Early documentation suggested the vessel would initially operate under a Government Owned, Commercially Operated model for two years, before transitioning to Government Owned, Government Operated status with continued commercial support.
No explanation beyond “procurement no longer going ahead” was provided in the termination notice, and the MoD has not yet set out whether elements of the requirement may be revisited in revised form or absorbed into other programmes.
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George
After project Lily
Can I suggest a name Project Milly
which will reult in Nil
willy-nilly.
What a load of old bollocks.
“Project Lily was cancelled following a decision to consider alternative internal options to meet this requirement.”
Then the very next sentence then states there isn’t currently an alternative. So they just simply cancelled it when it came to actually buying something.
it would be interesting to know just how much money. again has been wasted on this project.??
just a thought..
Lily was to give cover for Echo Class being withdrawn….
Now what?
I think that due to Massive advances in AI they can now move on from the expensive costly outdated model of physical drones.. to a AI modelling based model in which a quantum computer simply models the future ocean floor from historical data and produces 100% accurate charts from an 18 year olds bedroom in Taunton ( the last employee of the UK Hydrographic Office who is now working from home).
I did hear that they had cancelled upgraded him from the £50 ChatGPT subscription because Rachel wouldn’t fund it. So he is running it via free Chinese AI agent that they offered Keir access to as a sign of friendship.
At least they are going to be supplied via Chinese tec, I was worried for a second they were going to sub contract to Russia.. as they have done a lot of mapping of the UKs EEZ without even being paid.. but the Chinese are good communists so we can defo trust them.
RIBs will cover this –
Rigidly Inflexible Budgets?
“Project Lily was cancelled following a decision to consider alternative internal options to meet this requirement.”
I think this sentence indicates that something more than just an abandonment of the project has taken place. Lily was going to be contractor owned and operated, ie outsourced capability. An ‘internal option’ would have been for the Navy to do the job themselves and take the job back in house, which I’m sure you all agree is a good thing for the long term.
So it isn’t a sign of government cost-cutting so much as a desire to have more control over the capability.
Would a change to an internal option suggest lean manned rather than unmanned?
No I think it means internally managed rather than any reference to the design.
More politician bollox.
And another project goes down the pan.
Project Silly next then ?
So how many millions were spent for this dead end then?
Another one (unmanned) bites the dust.
There is a song in there somewhere me thinks.
Type 91 next?
Some years ago, it was looked at to make DE&S a GOCO organisation, which collapsed because senior management didn’t want it.
Are the dark forces of DE&S at play here.
I’m sure this is just confirmation bias but the more I read about high level decisions in Britain, the more it looks like we are being dismantled.
It’s probably nothing more than sheer incompetence, just the usual lack of forward-thinking our higher-ups have displayed for a century, but it seems that other countries are taking the lead on nearly everything, while we cancel or delay projects that other countries seem to be getting on with ok.