Romsey S&E giant Roke wins contract to deliver Project BESTLA for the MOD

The Ministry of Defence has awarded Roke, a well-known innovator in Britain's science and engineering sector, a sizeable £4.7M contract.

The British Army's Land Warfare Centre will get remote observation, surveillance, and RF emission collecting devices as part of Project BESTLA, which will be delivered by Roke under the terms of the contract. Through this service, LWC's Observer Mentors will receive improved assistance with their training evaluation and feedback. The British Army can employ Project BESTLA wherever it trains overseas.

For the first three years of the deal, the contract will be worth £4.69 million. The contract features an option to extend the agreement for an additional two years.

It adds to a lengthy list of significant contracts won by the Hampshire firm, whose headquarters are at Roke Manor near Romsey. The 1956-founded company undertakes research and development in the domains of human science, information assurance, communications, networks, electronic sensors, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, military decision support consultancy, and operational analysis. They're arguably most famous for designed and making 'Hawkeye', used in tennis and cricket.

Paul MacGregor is Roke's Managing Director. He had this to say about the rewarding of the contract:

“At Roke, we’re proud of our heritage of world-class innovation in support of the defence of our nation. Through Project BESTLA, we’ll build on the success of our Electronic Warfare products, RESOLVE and PERCEIVE, to develop new tactical communication solutions for The British Army. This will offer a real advantage to the eyes and ears of the troops in their global training missions."

“We’re also pleased to be working alongside Soteria Defence and Security Limited on this project. Soteria will provide ex-military personnel with extensive experience of army training exercises to deliver specialised and dynamic consultancy services to Project BESTLA.”

Main picture courtesy of Roke

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