The Ministry of Defence has issued an updated preliminary market engagement notice for its Light Mobility Vehicle (LMV) project, a procurement effort expected to be worth up to £900 million including VAT.
Published by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), the notice outlines the Army’s intention to modernise capability currently provided by vehicles such as the Land Rover and Pinzgauer, with the LMV programme expected to deliver multiple vehicle options under a “common base platform” approach.
The project aims to provide “a wheeled utility platform to modernise capability in roles currently filled by Land Rover and Pinzgauer with a Common Based Platform delivering warfighting roles across the Joint Force.”
The contract is currently expected to run for six years, from 30 April 2027 to 30 April 2033, with the MOD listing the procurement as a goods contract. The estimated value is stated as £750 million excluding VAT, rising to £900 million including VAT. The engagement notice was updated on 17 February 2026, with DE&S confirming that following an industry Market Interest Day held on 15 January 2026 at Warminster Garrison, the programme team has now issued an initial Request for Information (RFI) to gather further insights from industry.
The MOD said it welcomes input from industry partners either individually or as part of a group, and has made the RFI available through an online form. Responses are requested by 17:00 on Tuesday 3 March 2026.
As part of the engagement process, DE&S has also released parts of its User Requirement Document, including Part 2 of the Key User Requirements and Part 3 of the URD, through the Defence Sourcing Portal. The department stressed the material is being provided for guidance only and does not represent a commitment to proceed with procurement as currently described.
The MOD stated that it retains the right to change “any or all of the details or features” contained in the document, but is inviting comments through the RFI process. The notice also confirms that further early market engagement activities may take place throughout 2025 and 2026, including supplier briefs, RFIs and supplier forum meetings, as the department develops its contracting approach.
DE&S also said the preliminary engagement does not formally signify the start of a procurement process, and that a formal competition would only begin with the publication of a Tender Notice.
Thank god we got part 3 of the URD, I would not want to buy an armoured vehicle off the shelf without one of them
This is why we can’t have nice things 🤦♂️
I cant believe they have included Ukraine on the list of banned countries for the Market Interest Day, citing security concerns and capacity constraints
WHY…