MoD awards NP Aerospace US$94.6 million spares and repairs contract
Some of the vehicles that will now be serviced by NP Aerospace, following the award of the Conventional Vehicles contract. (Photo: MoD/Crown copyright)
The UK government has announced it would consolidate the provision of spares and post-design services for Conventional Vehicles in the British Army through a single point of supply for at least the next four years.
NP Aerospace confirmed at DVD 2024 at UTAC Millbrook earlier this week that it had been selected to provide wheeled vehicle support to the UK’s Ministry of Defence for the next four years under a £71 million (US$94.6 million) contract, with two separate one-year extension options after that point.
The contract for what has been called Conventional Vehicle Systems Spares and Post-Design Services (CVSSP) will make NP Aerospace responsible for delivering spares and post-design services for a range of legacy utility and combat vehicles, along with ancillary equipment, throughout the British Army.
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The work will amount to servicing a fleet of more than 15,000 vehicles, including every British Army Land Rover, the entire Pinzgauer fleet and the Army’s lightweight trailer fleet.
The move has been strategic on the part of the UK Ministry of Defence, consolidating a range of previously existing service contracts into a single point of contact, effectively putting all its servicing eggs into NP Aerospace’s basket.
The hope from the MoD is that the move will simplify the spares and repairs process throughout the service, while maintaining its fleet availability at levels required, both for active operations and ongoing training programmes.
In 2019, NP Aerospace won a similar MoD support deal known as the Protected Mobility Engineering & Technical Support (PMETS) contract. That has seen the company support the MoD’s fleet of more than 2,000 Protected Mobility Vehicles for the past five years including Mastiffs, Wolfhounds, Ridgbacks, Buffalos, Chokers, Foxhounds, Jackals and Coyotes. NP Aerospace will now service the PMETS and CVSSP simultaneously, with PMETS extended in 2023 to run through to March 2026.
There had been rumours that NP Aerospace would be able to significantly expand its operations for months after it acquired the assets of Jankel Armouring after the company went into administration earlier in 2024.
The PMETS extension and the new CVSSP contract will mean increased work and likely expansion for NP Aerospace’s plant in Coventry, which would fall in line with the new UK government’s commitment to matching increased performance in the British Armed Forces with increased UK-based manufacturing.
UK minister for defence procurement and industry Maria Eagle said the CVSSP contract would “help to secure the future of our state-of-the-art combat vehicle fleet, ensuring our soldiers are equipped with cutting-edge firepower, protection and crucial capabilities, streamlining the processes involved in repairs and upgrades, while boosting UK economic growth at the same time”.
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