AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
The Ministry of Defence has published a transparency notice for a proposed direct award to UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL for post-doctoral research on UAV-based autonomous radiation mapping, source localisation and radiological threat characterisation.
Published outcomeAward 1 is pending. The notice schedules signature for 6 November 2026; it does not evidence a signed or active contract.
Market significanceThis is a £368,512.48 net direct award for specialist research services, justified by continuity with an existing NTR-funded autonomy research programme and supplier-specific knowledge, datasets and methodologies.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · 368512.48 GBP · Pending award
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Verified supplier record links UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL (GB-COH RC000648) to award 1. Award 1 relates to lot 1 and has a net value of GBP 368,512.48.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice status
98% confidencePublished transparency notice; tender status complete
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Process display status is awarded; notice type is 'Transparency notice on Find a Tender'; tender status is complete.
Award status
100% confidencePending
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Award 1 status is 'pending'.
Contract conclusion
99% confidenceNot evidenced as signed or active
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The award is pending and includes a futureSignatureDate milestone scheduled for 2026-11-06.
Lot status
95% confidenceLot 1 complete
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Tender lot 1 status is complete.
VALUES
Published values explained
Award value (net)
100% confidenceGBP 368,512.48
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Award 1 value.amount is 368512.48 GBP.
Award value (gross)
100% confidenceGBP 442,214.98
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Award 1 value.amountGross is 442214.98 GBP.
Value allocation
94% confidenceAward-level value for the single listed supplier and lot
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Award 1 names one supplier and relates to lot 1.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Notice published
100% confidence15 October 2026
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Award notice datePublished is 2026-10-15T13:56:17+01:00.
Scheduled signature date
100% confidence6 November 2026
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Award milestone futureSignatureDate is scheduled for 2026-11-06T23:59:59+00:00.
Planned contract start
100% confidence6 November 2026
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Award contractPeriod startDate is 2026-11-06T00:00:00+00:00.
Planned contract end
100% confidence6 November 2028
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Award contractPeriod endDate is 2028-11-06T23:59:59+00:00.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
100% confidencePost-doctoral research to develop and mature UAV-based autonomous radiation mapping, source localisation and radiological threat characterisation capabilities.
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Process description.
Activities
100% confidenceAlgorithm development, validation trials and knowledge transfer.
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Process description.
Procurement category
100% confidenceServices / research services
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Award mainProcurementCategory is services; item CPV 73110000 is Research services.
Lot structure
98% confidenceOne lot listed, without a published lot title or description
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Tender contains lot 1 only; its title and description are null.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
100% confidenceDirect award
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Tender procurementMethod is direct and procurementMethodDetails is Direct award.
Direct-award rationale
100% confidenceContinuation of an existing NTR-funded autonomy research programme, with supplier-specific knowledge, intellectual capital, datasets, methodologies and specialist capability.
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Published procurementMethodRationale.
Rationale classification
100% confidenceSingle supplier for technical reasons
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procurementMethodRationaleClassifications contains singleSuppliersTechnicalReasons.
Competition information
99% confidenceBid count and evaluation information not supplied in the published notice.
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No bid, score or evaluation fields are provided.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Planned term
100% confidence6 November 2026 to 6 November 2028
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Award contractPeriod startDate and endDate.
Term length
98% confidenceApproximately two years
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Planned dates run from 2026-11-06 to 2028-11-06.
Signature status
100% confidenceFuture signature scheduled; no signed-contract evidence supplied
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futureSignatureDate is scheduled for 2026-11-06 and award status is pending.
Extension or renewal terms
99% confidenceNot supplied in the published notice.
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No extension or renewal terms are provided.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Route-to-market implication
90% confidenceThe stated technical-continuity rationale indicates limited immediate contestability for this specific requirement.
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The direct-award rationale cites supplier-specific knowledge, datasets, methodologies, intellectual capital and specialist capability from preceding work.
Supplier opportunity signal
67% confidenceFuture competition, if any, may depend on demonstrating comparable specialist capability in autonomous radiological mapping research and validation.
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This is an inference from the published scope and direct-award rationale, not a published evaluation criterion.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Award and contract status clarity
100% confidenceThe source records a pending award and scheduled future signature, so this analysis does not treat the arrangement as signed or active.
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Award status is pending; futureSignatureDate is scheduled for 2026-11-06.
Supplier identity quality
100% confidenceSupplier identity verified by company number: UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL (RC000648).
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Verification status is verified; match method is company_number.
Lot detail
100% confidenceLot 1 has no published title, description or separate value.
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Lot title, description and value are null.
Commercial detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice: tender submissions, evaluation results, pricing breakdown, award decision date, and extension terms.
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These fields are absent from the supplied notice data.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The published record is a pending award with a scheduled signature date, not evidence of a concluded or active contract.
- Lot 1 has no published title, description or individual value.
- Information not supplied in the published notice includes bid count, evaluation scores, award decision date, pricing breakdown and extension or renewal terms.
- The estimated recompetition timing is based only on the published planned end date and is not a procurement forecast.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Ministry of DefenceUNIVERSITY OF BRISTOLdirect awardUAV radiation mappingresearch servicesradiological threat characterisationFind a Tender
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who is named as the supplier?
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL, verified against company number RC000648.
Has the contract been signed?
No signed contract is evidenced. The award is pending and signature is scheduled for 6 November 2026.
What is the value of the award?
The published net award value is £368,512.48; the published gross value is £442,214.98.
Why was a direct award used?
The notice cites continuation of existing research and supplier-specific knowledge, datasets, methodologies and specialist capability.
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.