New Defence Contract Award

2 December 2025

PETARDS GROUP PLC ("Petards" or the "Group")

New Defence Contract Award

Petards, the AIM quoted developer of advanced security, communication and surveillance systems, announces that its subsidiary, Petards Joyce-Loebl (PJL), has been awarded a contract worth £2.2 million by Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land Limited ("RBSL").

The contract is for the provision of initial engineering design and obsolescence management services in support of RBSL's Challenger 3 Upgrade Programme ("the Programme") under which RBSL will deliver 148 Challenger 3 Main Battle Tanks to the British Army.

Activities are planned to commence immediately with this initial order scheduled to be fully delivered by the end of 2026.

Commenting on the award Petards Chairman Raschid Abdullah said;

"We are delighted that RBSL has chosen to work with Petards on this important UK project which is the largest Defence engineering services order received by the Group for many years and we hope to further our involvement in the Programme as it progresses to its production phase.

"We believe this award to be a recognition of Petards Joyce-Loebl's strong heritage within the military vehicle systems market and of its longstanding presence in the provision of design and manufacture of robust electronic products for demanding military applications."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the UK version of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

. 

Contacts:

Notes to editors:

Petards Defence is a division of Petards Joyce-Loebl (PJL), an SME based in the North East of England. We are expert in the development of high quality and reliable defence technology and our lineage in the UK defence sector dates back to the 1950s. PJL's principal facility in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, employs a highly skilled and experienced team of 45 engineers, technicians and support staff, encouraging the maintenance of highly skilled jobs in a traditional manufacturing region.

Having supplied and supported many equipment types over its long history, Petards Defence is uniquely placed to provide the critical range of specialist skills required by the defence sector to support the equipment used by the UK's armed forces. It has established a strong reputation for being a responsive, flexible and reliable partner in delivering challenging military programmes. Petards Defence excels in the disciplines of Communications Information Systems, Ruggedised Electronic Control Systems, Integrated Logistic Support and in the provision of Engineering Services to UK MOD and its prime contractors.

https://www.petards.com/our-solutions/defence-services/