The Ministry of Defence has formally terminated plans to procure an uncrewed surface vessel under Project Lily, bringing an end to a programme that had been expected to deliver a contractor-supported maritime autonomous platform for global operations.
A termination notice published on 3 February 2026 by Defence Equipment and Support confirms that the contract will not be signed and that the procurement is no longer going ahead. The decision not to proceed was taken on 16 January 2026, according to the notice.
Project Lily had been trailed in a procurement pipeline notice issued in May 2025 under the Procurement Act 2023. That notice set out plans to acquire a single commercial off-the-shelf uncrewed surface vessel, along with a dedicated Remote Operations Centre, to support year-round operations in open ocean environments. The estimated value of the programme was £27.3 million including VAT, with a planned contract duration of four years from January 2026 to January 2030.
The proposed capability was intended to support military data-gathering tasks, with a particular focus on hydrographic and oceanographic activity. Early documentation indicated the vessel would initially operate under a Government Owned, Commercially Operated model for two years, before transitioning to Government Owned, Government Operated status with continued commercial support.
At the time, the pipeline notice suggested the requirement could attract interest from companies specialising in marine robotics, autonomous vessels and maritime sensing technologies. The procurement was framed as part of a wider effort to exploit uncrewed systems for tasks critical to undersea awareness and maritime operations.
No explanation beyond “procurement no longer going ahead” is provided in the termination notice, and the Ministry of Defence has not set out whether elements of the requirement may be revisited in a revised form or folded into other programmes. As things stand, the cancellation removes one of the more clearly defined near-term opportunities for an MoD-operated uncrewed surface vessel capability.