Underwater Mobile Acoustic Targets - Contract Award Notoce

The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded a £12,300,000 service contract to QinetiQ Limited for the deployment, maintenance, servicing, and upgrade of Underwater Mobile Acoustic Targets (UMAT) at the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC) in Scotland. These torpedo-sized autonomous targets simulate submarine noise and echo strength for training Royal Navy submarine crews in detection, classification, and firing Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes, including for the Astute-class fleet. The contract is strategically critical to avoid a 24-month capability gap, as QinetiQ is the sole provider with approved US DoD ITAR certification and technical capability for necessary upgrades, awarded via single tender due to unforeseen requirements.