MOD Awards Secret Computing Contract for Military Court Service
The MOD has published a transparency notice confirming a contract for secure air-gapped computing capability at SECRET classification level for the Military Court Service. This confirms MOD is actively procuring accredited secure IT infrastructure outside standard networks, which points to ongoing demand for TEMPEST-compliant or accredited systems in niche justice and administrative settings, not just frontline operations. For SMEs in secure IT, this is a signal that similar requirements may exist across other MOD administrative functions that rarely surface publicly.
Source →Minister Pollard Publishes SME Action Plan at Farnborough
At the Farnborough AGF Defence Summit, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard highlighted record spending on drones and innovation and published a new SME Action Plan to grow Britain's defence industry. The plan's existence is confirmed but its specific commitments are not detailed in the signal, so content remains thin at this stage. SMEs should find and read the plan directly, as it may define how MOD intends to route more spend toward smaller suppliers, which has direct implications for how to position bids and engagement with primes.
Source →MOD Awards Three Contracts for Low-Cost Counter-Drone Systems
MOD awarded 3.16 million across three companies to counter drone threats, becoming the first European partner to act under a joint defence programme in this area. This is a direct counter-UAS procurement signal, confirming MOD is moving money now in this domain rather than just studying it. The joint programme framing suggests further tranches are likely, and the multi-award structure indicates MOD is deliberately spreading risk across suppliers rather than consolidating to a single vendor.
Source →PESCO Reports 74 Active Projects Moving Toward Procurement
The EU's PESCO framework now has 74 active defence projects advancing toward operational deployment, with momentum specifically in cyber, AI, electronic warfare, maritime security, and military mobility. For UK SMEs, direct PESCO access is closed post-Brexit, but many PESCO participants are also NATO allies and active UK partners who procure independently. The domains cited map closely to where UK MOD is also spending, so this report is a useful proxy for where European allied demand is heading and where export or teaming opportunities may develop.
Source →West Midlands Fire Service Procuring DJI UAV Systems
West Midlands Fire Service has published a tender for DJI UAV systems to support incident reconnaissance, search and rescue, and hazard monitoring. This is a live procurement opportunity in the blue-light sector rather than defence, but the operational requirements closely mirror military ISR use cases, and the named supplier (DJI) raises questions about security-cleared or domestically-sourced alternatives that fire services may need to consider in future rounds. SMEs with non-Chinese-origin UAV platforms or sensor payloads suited to confined and dynamic environments may find blue-light procurement a lower-barrier entry point than MOD.
Source →MOD procurement activity is moving across secure IT, counter-drone, and autonomous systems simultaneously, while the new SME Action Plan signals intent to direct more of that spend toward smaller suppliers.