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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

144000

Ministry of Defence · compiled

Tender information last checkedLast checked 29 Sept 2026, 22:06.

Opportunity overview

The 13 Pounder is a ceremonial gun and carries out 18 musical drives and Royal Salutes annually. They are used as part of the enduring OP BRIDGE (a Royal death and funeral ceremony) and carry significant Royal and Government interest. The 13pdr is over 100 years old having entered service in 1904 as a horse drawn artillery piece and was first issued in 1946 as a saluting gun to the then Riding Troop, later renamed as The King’s Troop RHA (Royal Horse Artillery). Its principal function being to provide Royal Salutes and its secondary function is as a hearse for State Funerals. There are qty 9 of the 13pdr guns and a George gun. The George gun has received no modification as it does not get fired, its sole purpose is to carry the coffin at state funerals. The breech block and carrier components, last refurbished in 1967, have worn and are no longer providing a secure fit, with significant “play” between the parts. Due to the age of the gun there is a lack of historical documentation, technical drawings and material specifications for the parts and the supply of parts have been found lacking, many of the parts being obsolete. The breeches are wearing out and starting to crack on the 13pdr which increases the chances of a misfire. If this occurred during a high-profile public show it would be damaging to defence reputation and require time consuming misfire drills to be conducted. This repair procedure would allow the breeches to be brought up to standard again, giving confidence that the equipment will function, safely, as intended.​ This notice is not a request for expressions of interest so please do not apply to be invited to tender. This notice advises that the Authority has decided to negotiate a contract with the named supplier on a single source basis, and is published for reasons of transparency. If you are interested in becoming a sub-contractor for this requirement, you should apply directly to the supplier named above.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Classification

  • CPV75221000 — Military defence services

Lots

  • The 13 Pounder is a ceremonial gun and carries out 18 musical drives and Royal Salutes annually. They are used as part of the enduring OP BRIDGE (a Royal death and funeral ceremony) and carry significant Royal and Government interest. The 13pdr is over 100 years old having entered service in 1904 as a horse drawn artillery piece and was first issued in 1946 as a saluting gun to the then Riding Troop, later renamed as The King’s Troop RHA (Royal Horse Artillery). Its principal function being to provide Royal Salutes and its secondary function is as a hearse for State Funerals. There are qty 9 of the 13pdr guns and a George gun. The George gun has received no modification as it does not get fired, its sole purpose is to carry the coffin at state funerals. The breech block and carrier components, last refurbished in 1967, have worn and are no longer providing a secure fit, with significant “play” between the parts. Due to the age of the gun there is a lack of historical documentation, technical drawings and material specifications for the parts and the supply of parts have been found lacking, many of the parts being obsolete. The breeches are wearing out and starting to crack on the 13pdr which increases the chances of a misfire. If this occurred during a high-profile public show it would be damaging to defence reputation and require time consuming misfire drills to be conducted. This repair procedure would allow the breeches to be brought up to standard again, giving confidence that the equipment will function, safely, as intended.​ This notice is not a request for expressions of interest so please do not apply to be invited to tender. This notice advises that the Authority has decided to negotiate a contract with the named supplier on a single source basis, and is published for reasons of transparency. If you are interested in becoming a sub-contractor for this requirement, you should apply directly to the supplier named above.Value not stated

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
ocds-h6vhtk-04e1e4
Status
complete
Procurement Method
limited
Main Procurement Category
services
Procurement Method Details
Negotiated without publication of a contract notice
Why this procedure was chosen
Babcock (SPC Contract) do not currently have the technical experience to do this task, the equipment to conduct the investigation of material specification requirements or the repairs. They would have to sub-contract to a supplier which would not provide a value for money solution. There are no known Service Sources or extant Framework Arrangements available and due to the value of the required work being more than 50% of the value of the previous contract, it is not possible to add to this to the existing contract. The original contract providing the breech repair scheme valued at £67k and the repairs themselves valued at £144k. Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii)(c) - Technical reasons Advance Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) have specialist expertise in machining, casting, welding, additive manufacturing, composites, designing for manufacturing, testing, and training and have completed work in support of the 13pdr previously. Going out to another contractor would potentially mean repeating the trials process that AMRC have already conducted or using the AMRC report which is impractical and could cause some questions over liability if the repairs were not successful. Given the age of the equipment and how niche this item is, it is necessary to use specific know-how and tools which AMRC have at their disposal. There is also the element of safety and reputation given that these guns are used to fire and are fired in public and / or on special occasions. The gun misfiring could cause injury and / or reputational damage. Regulation 16(1)(d)(ii) - Repetition of Works or Services AMRC have recently compiled a breech repair scheme as tasked by DE&S and therefore have the knowledge to confidently complete this repair. This contract will be a follow on contract from this previous work and the desire is for the same contractor to carry out the remaining necessary work in the interest of consistency, saving of time and value for money. This work conforms to the basic project with which the original contract was awarded and is within the required five years of the original contract. The original contract was awarded by the non-competitive negotiated procedure and notice was given of this additional work now required. The value of this additional work is over the required (50%) threshold to be able to extend the original contract.

Legal basis

Id
32009L0081
Scheme
CELEX

Classification

Id
75221000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Military defence services

Procedure reasons

Entry 1
Id
D_PROC_NEGOTIATED_PRIOR_CALL_COMPETITION
Scheme
TED_PT_AWARD_CONTRACT_WITHOUT_CALL
Description
No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to negotiated procedure with prior publication of a contract notice
Entry 2
Id
D_MANUF_FOR_RESEARCH
Scheme
TED_PT_AWARD_CONTRACT_WITHOUT_CALL
Description
The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development under the conditions stated in the directive

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Has Options
No
Description
The 13 Pounder is a ceremonial gun and carries out 18 musical drives and Royal Salutes annually. They are used as part of the enduring OP BRIDGE (a Royal death and funeral ceremony) and carry significant Royal and Government interest. The 13pdr is over 100 years old having entered service in 1904 as a horse drawn artillery piece and was first issued in 1946 as a saluting gun to the then Riding Troop, later renamed as The King’s Troop RHA (Royal Horse Artillery). Its principal function being to provide Royal Salutes and its secondary function is as a hearse for State Funerals. There are qty 9 of the 13pdr guns and a George gun. The George gun has received no modification as it does not get fired, its sole purpose is to carry the coffin at state funerals. The breech block and carrier components, last refurbished in 1967, have worn and are no longer providing a secure fit, with significant “play” between the parts. Due to the age of the gun there is a lack of historical documentation, technical drawings and material specifications for the parts and the supply of parts have been found lacking, many of the parts being obsolete. The breeches are wearing out and starting to crack on the 13pdr which increases the chances of a misfire. If this occurred during a high-profile public show it would be damaging to defence reputation and require time consuming misfire drills to be conducted. This repair procedure would allow the breeches to be brought up to standard again, giving confidence that the equipment will function, safely, as intended.​ This notice is not a request for expressions of interest so please do not apply to be invited to tender. This notice advises that the Authority has decided to negotiate a contract with the named supplier on a single source basis, and is published for reasons of transparency. If you are interested in becoming a sub-contractor for this requirement, you should apply directly to the supplier named above.

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Commercial
Description
20
Criterion 2
Name
Technical/Quality
Description
40
Criterion 3
Name
Financial
Description
40

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-FTS-51304
Name
Ministry of Defence

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKK11
Locality
Bristol
Postal Code
BS34 8JH
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
MOD Abbey Wood, Filton

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
NATIONAL_AGENCY
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
National or federal agency/office
Entry 2
Id
02
Scheme
COFOG
Description
Defence

Identifier

Legal Name
Ministry of Defence

Contact

Name
Vincent Onakpome
Organisation 2
Id
GB-FTS-138048
Name
Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC)

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UKE31
Locality
Rotherham
Postal Code
​S60 5TZ
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Wallis, Way, Catcliffe

Details

Scale
large

Identifier

Legal Name
Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC)
Organisation 3
Id
GB-FTS-5483
Name
Ministry of Defence

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
Bristol
Country Name
United Kingdom

Identifier

Legal Name
Ministry of Defence

Award information

Award 1
Id
005151-2025-​712850450-1
Title
13 Pounder Breech Repair
Status
active
Has Subcontracting
Yes

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-FTS-138048
Name
Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC)

Related lots

1

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
005151-2025-​712850450-1
Title
13 Pounder Breech Repair
Status
active
Award ID
005151-2025-​712850450-1
Date Signed
14 Feb 2025, 00:00

Value

Amount
144,000
Currency
GBP

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Bristol · UKK11 · BS34 8JH · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UK

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-04e1e4-2025-02-14T13:41:19Zcompiled ·