AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
The published notice says it is withdrawn and that a new notice will be published. It described a proposed direct award to Aquila Air Traffic Management Services for an amendment to an existing MOD air traffic management services contract, including revised pricing and a five-year reduction in duration. The award remains marked pending, so this is not evidence of a signed or active amended contract.
Published outcomePending direct-award outcome to Aquila Air Traffic Management Services for award 1; notice withdrawn.
Market significanceThe notice describes a highly constrained defence air-traffic-management market: MOD stated that no other supplier currently held the necessary Military Aviation Authority approval, and cited continuity and military flying safety risks.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
Aquila Air Traffic Management Services
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · £436,073,720 net; £523,288,464 gross (award-level value) GBP · Pending direct-award supplier
View supporting evidence
Award 1 names Aquila Air Traffic Management Services as supplier and reports amount £436,073,720 and amountGross £523,288,464. The award is pending.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice position
99% confidenceWithdrawn; replacement notice stated to be forthcoming
View supporting evidence
Tender description: "This Notice is withdrawn and a new Notice will be published."
Award status
99% confidencePending
View supporting evidence
Award 1 status is "pending".
Signature status
98% confidenceNot evidenced; future signature date was scheduled for 31 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Award milestone is type "futureSignatureDate", status "scheduled", dueDate 2026-10-31.
Planned contract period
99% confidence1 April 2027 to 31 March 2032
View supporting evidence
Award 1 contractPeriod specifies these dates.
VALUES
Published values explained
Award value (net)
99% confidence£436,073,720
View supporting evidence
Award 1 value.amount is 436073720 GBP.
Award value (gross)
99% confidence£523,288,464
View supporting evidence
Award 1 value.amountGross is 523288464 GBP.
Value attribution
96% confidenceAward-level amount for the sole named supplier and related lot 1; not evidence of a concluded contract value
View supporting evidence
Award 1 contains one supplier, related lot 1, and pending status.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Award date
99% confidence9 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Award 1 date is 2026-10-09.
Latest published notice
99% confidence12 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Award notice document 095942-2026 datePublished is 2026-10-12.
Standstill end
99% confidence20 October 2026, 23:59:59 BST
View supporting evidence
Award 1 standstillPeriod.endDate is 2026-10-20T23:59:59+01:00.
Scheduled future signature date
98% confidence31 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Future-signature milestone dueDate is 2026-10-31T23:59:59+00:00.
Planned start
99% confidence1 April 2027
View supporting evidence
Award 1 contractPeriod.startDate is 2027-04-01.
Planned end
99% confidence31 March 2032
View supporting evidence
Award 1 contractPeriod.endDate is 2032-03-31.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
98% confidenceDesign, procurement and installation of military air traffic management capability
View supporting evidence
Tender description describes the MOD requirement in these terms.
Service classification
99% confidenceAir-traffic control services (CPV 63732000)
View supporting evidence
Award item additional classification is CPV 63732000, Air-traffic control services.
Delivery geography
99% confidenceUnited Kingdom
View supporting evidence
Award item delivery address region is UK.
Lot structure
99% confidenceOne published lot (lot 1); no lot title or separate lot value supplied
View supporting evidence
Tender and award identify lot 1; supplied lot record has no title, description or value.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceDirect award
View supporting evidence
Tender procurementMethod and procurementMethodDetails are "direct" and "Direct award".
Legal rationale stated by buyer
96% confidenceMOD considered the amendment capable of direct award under Schedule 5, paragraph 20 of the Procurement Act 2023
View supporting evidence
Tender description states this consideration.
Buyer-stated market constraint
94% confidenceMOD stated that no other supplier currently held the required Military Aviation Authority approval
View supporting evidence
Tender description makes this statement.
Competition information
99% confidenceNo bid count, competing suppliers, evaluation results or scores published
View supporting evidence
Information not supplied in the published notice data.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Nature of proposed arrangement
98% confidenceAmendment to an existing contract, with material changes to duration and pricing
View supporting evidence
Tender description states MOD intends to amend the existing contract materially and vary pricing.
Duration change
96% confidenceBuyer states the amendment would reduce the existing contract duration by five years
View supporting evidence
Tender description states the direct award would reduce the contract duration by five years.
Pricing context
94% confidenceExisting contractor sought price renegotiation, citing external cost pressures
View supporting evidence
Tender description states this was the contractor's cited reason.
Renewal or extension terms
99% confidenceUnknown
View supporting evidence
Information not supplied in the published notice data.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial context
95% confidenceThe proposed amendment combines price renegotiation with a shorter stated duration, according to the buyer's description
View supporting evidence
Tender description refers to varied pricing and a five-year duration reduction.
Market-access consideration
93% confidenceMilitary Aviation Authority approval is described as necessary to deliver the service, creating a stated qualification barrier
View supporting evidence
Tender description says the supplier must hold relevant MAA approval and states alternatives lacked necessary approvals.
Procurement status implication
99% confidenceSuppliers should not treat this withdrawn, pending award record as confirmation of a concluded contract or a live award
View supporting evidence
Notice is expressly withdrawn; award status is pending and signature is only scheduled.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Withdrawal and pending status
99% confidenceThe notice is explicitly withdrawn, while the sole award remains pending; the record does not establish a signed amendment or contract commencement.
View supporting evidence
Tender description; award 1 status; futureSignatureDate milestone.
Supplier verification limitation
99% confidenceThe published supplier name has no supplied verified legal company name or Companies House number. It is used as the published supplier identity, not as a Companies House-verified legal identity.
View supporting evidence
Supplier verification fields show status not_applicable and null verified-company fields.
Notice-history inconsistency
94% confidenceRelease history includes several award and contract-update notices, including a later release, but the supplied current tender description says the notice is withdrawn. This analysis does not infer the effect of those releases.
View supporting evidence
Release history and tender description supplied in the record.
Unpublished commercial detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice: individual lot value, underlying contract baseline, pricing breakdown, evaluation detail, bid count, and extension terms.
View supporting evidence
Supplied lot and award data contain no such fields.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The notice is withdrawn and a new notice is stated to be forthcoming; its final replacement outcome is unknown.
- The award is pending, not evidence of a signed, concluded or active amended contract.
- No verified legal company name or company number was supplied for Aquila Air Traffic Management Services; the published name is not Companies House verified in this record.
- The source contains multiple award and contract-update releases, but no evidence supplied resolves their relationship to the withdrawn notice.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: lot title and value, underlying contract details, pricing breakdown, tender responses, evaluation, bid count, extension terms and final signature outcome.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Aquila Air Traffic Management ServicesDefence Equipment and SupportMOD air traffic managementdirect awardmilitary air traffic managementProcurement Act 2023
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Was the MOD air traffic management contract signed?
No signed contract is evidenced. The notice says it is withdrawn, the award is pending, and a future signature date was only scheduled.
Who was named as the proposed supplier?
Aquila Air Traffic Management Services was the sole supplier named for award 1.
What was the published value?
The pending award reported £436,073,720 net and £523,288,464 gross.
Why was a direct award proposed?
MOD stated that continuity and safety risks, alongside the required Military Aviation Authority approval, supported a direct-award rationale. This is the buyer's stated rationale, not an independently verified market finding.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.