The Ministry of Defence has indicated plans to procure a deep-water Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) system for military salvage operations, with an estimated contract value of £16.5 million including VAT.
The project is being led by the Salvage and Marine Operations (SALMO) team within Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), according to a UK1 pipeline notice published on 20 May 2025.
The intended ROV system will be a work-class vehicle capable of operating at depths beyond 4,000 metres. It must be able to perform object manipulation tasks and provide high-resolution imagery in extreme deep-sea environments. The package will also include a launch and recovery system, control and workshop units, and ISO containers to support rapid deployment by road.
SALMO’s requirement reflects the UK’s ongoing need to maintain sovereign capability in underwater recovery, survey, and salvage – whether for military incidents, sunken munitions, or support to allied operations.
According to the notice, the MOD intends to issue a full contract notice for this requirement in 2026 or 2027, with contract award expected in the 2028/2029 financial year. The support package will include at least one year of in-service support.
The total estimated value of the contract is £13.76 million excluding VAT (£16.51 million including VAT), with a delivery period expected to run from 31 October 2028 to 14 September 2033. The procurement falls under the “defence and security” regime of the Procurement Act 2023.
Classified under CPV code 35512400 (unmanned underwater vehicles), the procurement will be open to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs). The contract location is listed as the South-West of the UK (BG41 region).
This UK1 pipeline notice fulfils a transparency obligation under the Procurement Act 2023, which requires early publication of major upcoming defence contracts above £2 million. It allows potential suppliers to prepare ahead of the anticipated formal tender in late 2025.
The acquisition will bolster the UK’s ability to conduct deep-sea salvage and underwater intervention missions with greater precision and autonomy in some of the most challenging operational environments.
In many ways it’s worrying how limited the reach of our military is, nothing below 3000 feet or above 100,000 feet.
That leaves a lot of places for an adversary to operate.
And yet this ROV operates beyond 13,123.36 feet (401 atmospheres), that’s at least 10,123.36 feet deeper than 3000 feet.
Cracking stuff indeed.
It’s a jet picker-upper… it’s seems the seabed is just full of them.
Just announced.
6 new munitions factories to be built in the UK and the MOD is to purchase 7000 new long range precision strike missiles. ? Storm shadow or Tomahawk or LRASM or NSMs or Spear 3? Who the hell knows.
Find out on Monday I guess. £1.5 billion for this order so a sizeable munitions purchase.