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Project Corvus - Procurement of an Uncrewed Air System to support the Army Land Tactical Deep Find 24-hr Persistent Surveillance RequirementDeep Find

Defence Equipment and Support · Contract details notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 14 Oct 2026, 16:26.

Opportunity overview

Project Corvus - Procurement of an Uncrewed Air System Capability to support the Army Land Tactical Deep Find 24-hr Persistent Surveillance Requirement. On 31st July 2025 Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), now National Armaments Director Group, published a UK 4 Tender Notice (Notice Identifier: 2025/S 000-044898) on the Find a Tender Service (FTS) Platform to inform the market that it intended to run a procurement for Project CORVUS under the competitive flexible procedure of the Procurement Act 2023. The Authority subsequently issued the Project Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) and invited 18 Bidders to respond to an Invitation to Tender (ITT). By the ITT closing date (13th February 2026) 8 Bidders had submitted a response to the ITT, however none of these responses were suitable. The Authority is now following the process as set out in Section 43 the Procurement Act of 2023. Section 43 of the Procurement Act 2023 permits a contracting authority, in certain circumstances, to switch from a competitive tendering procedure to a direct award. The Authority has considered the statutory conditions for reliance on section 43 and has concluded that they are satisfied in this case. In particular, the Authority considers that no suitable tender was received under the Procurement, as none of the tenders received satisfied the Authority's mandatory requirements when assessed by reference to the stated assessment methodology. The Authority has also concluded that a further competitive tendering procedure would not be possible in the circumstances, for operational reasons. The Authority therefore considers that a direct award under section 43 is justified and compliant with the Procurement Act 2023. As a result, and following the process in section 43(5), the Authority intends to award the Contract to Tekever Ltd as the only bidder in the Procurement to pass Stage 1 (Tender Board and Completeness Check), Stage 2 (Affordability Check), and Stage 3 (PASS/FAIL Tender Criteria) Question PF02 (Ability to Deliver Task Line 1) and also to submit detailed evidence supporting all of its technical responses. Tekever Ltd are not an "Excludable" or "Excluded" supplier in accordance with the Act. The estimated date the contract will be signed (subject to approvals) is 31 August 2026, however this may be subject to change The standstill period begins upon the publication of this notice (5 August 2026) and ends 8 working days later on 14 August 2026 @ 23.59 GMT. Any changes to this will be communicated by issuing a correction/amendment notice.

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.

Tekever Ltd

Matched by number
Published award value
£220m
Awarded
23 Jul 2026
Award ID
1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH 08684764
Location
Southampton, UKJ36, SO16 7QJ, United Kingdom

Classification

No classification was supplied.

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

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
UAS/00122
Status
complete
Procurement Method
direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Why this procedure was chosen
Project Corvus - Procurement of an Uncrewed Air System Capability to support the Army Land Tactical Deep Find 24-hr Persistent Surveillance Requirement. On 31st July 2025 Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), now National Armaments Director Group, published a UK 4 Tender Notice (Notice Identifier: 2025/S 000-044898) on the Find a Tender Service (FTS) Platform to inform the market that it intended to run a procurement for Project CORVUS under the competitive flexible procedure of the Procurement Act 2023. The Authority subsequently issued the Project Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) and invited 18 Bidders to respond to an Invitation to Tender (ITT). By the ITT closing date (13th February 2026) 8 Bidders had submitted a response to the ITT, however none of these responses were suitable. The Authority is now following the process as set out in Section 43 the Procurement Act of 2023. Section 43 of the Procurement Act 2023 permits a contracting authority, in certain circumstances, to switch from a competitive tendering procedure to a direct award. The Authority has considered the statutory conditions for reliance on section 43 and has concluded that they are satisfied in this case. In particular, the Authority considers that no suitable tender was received under the Procurement, as none of the tenders received satisfied the Authority's mandatory requirements when assessed by reference to the stated assessment methodology. The Authority has also concluded that a further competitive tendering procedure would not be possible in the circumstances, for operational reasons. The Authority therefore considers that a direct award under section 43 is justified and compliant with the Procurement Act 2023. As a result, and following the process in section 43(5), the Authority intends to award the Contract to Tekever Ltd as the only bidder in the Procurement to pass Stage 1 (Tender Board and Completeness Check), Stage 2 (Affordability Check), and Stage 3 (PASS/FAIL Tender Criteria) Question PF02 (Ability to Deliver Task Line 1) and also to submit detailed evidence supporting all of its technical responses. Tekever Ltd are not an "Excludable" or "Excluded" supplier in accordance with the Act.

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Special regime

defenceSecurity

Procedure reasons

Entry 1
Id
switchingDirectAward

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
complete

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
conflictOfInterest
Document Type
conflictOfInterest
Description
Not published

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
Defence Equipment and Support
Id
GB-PPON-PVRL-5831-GLMM

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PVRL-5831-GLMM

Address

Street Address
MOD Abbey Wood
Locality
Bristol
Postal Code
BS34 8JH
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKK12

Contact

Name
Rachel Barnes

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthorityCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - central government
Organisation 2
Name
Tekever Ltd
Id
GB-COH-08684764

Identifier

Scheme
GB-COH
Id
08684764

Address

Street Address
5 Benham Road, Southampton Business Park
Locality
Southampton
Postal Code
SO16 7QJ
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKJ36

Contact

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Vcse
No
Public Service Mission Organization
No
Sheltered Workshop
No

Award information

Award 1
Id
1
Status
active
Main Procurement Category
goods

Items

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
35613000
Description
Unmanned aerial vehicles

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-COH-08684764
Name
Tekever Ltd

Related lots

1

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
1
Award ID
1
Title
Project Corvus - Procurement of an Uncrewed Air System capability to support the Army Land Tactical Deep Find Requirement
Status
active
Has Renewal
Yes
Has Options
Yes
Above Threshold
Yes
Date Signed
31 Aug 2026, 00:00

Period

Starts
31 Aug 2026, 00:00
Ends
31 Aug 2031, 23:59
Max Extent Date
31 Aug 2036, 23:59

Renewal

Description
The Customer initially requires 2 x Task Lines, each able to provide 24 hours of persistent surveillance. The CORVUS capability will require to be supported for 5 years from Minimum Deployable Capability. There will be Contractual Options included to increase the number of Task Lines and extended years of support (additional 5 years) should the capability prove its cost effectiveness.

Options

Description
The Customer initially requires 2 x Task Lines, each able to provide 24 hours of persistent surveillance. The CORVUS capability will require to be supported for 5 years from Minimum Deployable Capability. There will be Contractual Options included to increase the number of Task Lines and extended years of support (additional 5 years) should the capability prove its cost effectiveness.

Value

Including VAT
264,000,000
Amount
220,000,000
Currency
GBP

Agreed Metrics

Entry 1
Id
1
Title
KPI 1 - Spares Demands and Repairs Demands
Description
The Contractor shall Satisfy all Spares Purchase Orders and Repairs Demands that were satisfied by the relevant RDD (from the Logistics Support date - Task Line 1).

Observations

Entry 1
Id
frequency

Period

Duration In Months
1
Entry 2
Id
2
Title
KPI 3 - Technical Enquiries
Description
The Contractor shall Resolve all Technical Enquiries within the Resolution Time (from Contract Award).

Observations

Entry 1
Id
frequency

Period

Duration In Months
1
Entry 3
Id
3
Title
KPI 4 - Reliability and Maintainability
Description
The Contractor shall deliver and support an Air System that shall be capable of achieving a 90% Probability of Mission Success (from Equipment Delivery Date).

Observations

Entry 1
Id
frequency

Period

Duration In Months
1
Entry 4
Id
4
Title
KPI 2 - Spares Modelling
Description
The Contractor shall ensure that each Contractor Demand Forecast is accurate and reflective of the Customer Requirements (reported from Year 3 onward)

Observations

Entry 1
Id
frequency

Period

Duration In Months
12
Entry 5
Id
5
Title
KPI 5 - Innovation (Spiral Development)
Description
The Contractor shall actively consider, explore, research and identify Innovation and Innovation Opportunities and present such insights at the JTWG for the Authority’s consideration (from 1 Sept 2027).

Observations

Entry 1
Id
frequency

Period

Duration In Months
12
Entry 6
Id
6
Title
KPI 6 - Social Value and Supply Chain Security
Description
The Contractor shall achieve a rating of Meeting Target for the Delivery Objectives (for both Social Values and Supply Chain Security) in each Contract Year (from Contract Award).

Observations

Entry 1
Id
frequency

Period

Duration In Months
12

Documents

Entry 1
Id
097115-2026
Document Type
contractNotice
Notice Type
UK7
Description
Contract details notice on Find a Tender
Published
14 Oct 2026, 15:14
Format
text/html

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Bristol · UKK12 · BS34 8JH · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

3 published notice versions reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

3 VERSIONS
  1. 070248-2026Transparency notice on Find a Tender ·
  2. 074233-2026Contract award notice on Find a Tender ·
  3. 097115-2026Contract details notice on Find a Tender ·

PROCURAAXIS AWARD ANALYSIS

Award outcome intelligence

Evidence-bound analysis of the published award appears below the official tender and award information.

ANALYSIS PREVIEW

Award intelligence at a glance

Defence Equipment and Support awarded Project Corvus to TEKEVER LTD for an uncrewed air system supporting the Army’s 24-hour persistent-surveillance requirement. The published contract record states it was signed on 31 August 2026.

Published outcome signals

  • Original procurement approachCompetitive flexible procedureEvidence: The notice says a UK4 Tender Notice was published on 31 July 2025 and that 18 bidders were invited to ITT.
  • Direct-award rationaleSection 43 switch to direct award after no suitable tenderEvidence: The notice says eight ITT responses were received by 13 February 2026, none met mandatory requirements, and the authority considered a further competition not possible for operational reasons.
  • Award decisionAwarded to TEKEVER LTDEvidence: Award 1 is active and names Tekever Ltd as supplier; award date is recorded as 24 July 2026.
97% approved-analysis confidence1 supplier record analysed3 source limitations

SOURCE AND FRESHNESS

Traceable procurement data

Source
Find a Tender
Notice reference
097115-2026
OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06d322
First published
5 Aug 2026
Last checked
14 Oct 2026, 16:26
Notice versions reviewed
3

HOW THIS WAS PREPARED

Approved, evidence-bound analysis

ProcuraAxis structures information found in published procurement records, checks the result for consistency and publishes only approved analysis. Confidence describes the completeness and consistency of the available source information; it is not a guarantee of eligibility or contract award.

Analysis status
Approved for publication
Analysed
14 Oct 2026
Read the analysis methodology →