Avon awarded UK Ministry of Defence General Service Respirator contract worth up to £38m

CBRN respirators for all branches of the UK’s armed forces to be supplied from Avon’s Melksham facility, boosting UK’s sovereign CBRN protection capability.

We are pleased to announce that Avon Protection has won the tender for the continued supply of the General Service Respirator (“GSR”) and associated in service support for the UK Ministry of Defence (“MoD”).

Avon has been supplying the MoD with GSR masks since 2018 and this new contract award will enable Avon to continue to help protect the lives of people serving in the UK Armed Forces, sustaining the UK’s domestic CBRN protection production capability.

The contract, over four years, with five further 12-month option periods is valued at up to £38 million.

Jos Sclater, Chief Executive Officer at Avon Protection plc, commented:

"We are very proud to have won this competitive tender with the UK MoD and to continue supporting the UK’s objectives of providing the highest quality, most reliable and trusted protection equipment for the UK’s service men and women.

As we have seen with the reported deployment of chemical agents in Ukraine and in other recent conflicts, the highest grade CBRN protection is critical to operational capability for warfighters in the evolving reality of near-peer, hybrid warfare.

This award is strategically important for Avon. It demonstrates our continued technological leadership in CBRN respiratory protection and provides a strong foundation for our UK business over the medium and long term. We look forward to continuing to provide the UK with a world-leading sovereign capability in CBRN protection from our facility in Melksham and developing new technologies which will provide unparalleled protection for those who defend our nation.”

Richard Bloomfield, Head of Electronic Warfare and CBRN at MoD Defence Equipment and Support, commented:

“We welcome the award of this contract, which will ensure continued support of the respiratory protection available to our armed forces.

We have worked with Avon on supporting GSR for the past 6 years and look forward to continuing this relationship, offering high levels of protection to our troops across the world.”