News release

QinetiQ Group plc

$170m US new business contract win underpins Avantus growth

20 November 2023 - QinetiQ Group plc ("QinetiQ") is pleased to announce that it has won a 5-year $170m contract with the US Department of Homeland Security for the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS).

TARS is the largest new business competitive win for Avantus since our acquisition last year and builds on recent significant contract awards, reported in our Interim Results last week. This win takes the total new contract awards this year for Avantus to $827m, equivalent to more than 2.5x years of revenue cover. These major contract wins deliver new incremental business, building momentum to deliver strong revenue growth in the second half of this year and beyond, underpinning our confidence that Avantus will deliver double-digit revenue growth at stable margin into the medium term.

Avantus has transformed our customer access in the US, expanding our customer base and creating a disruptive mid-tier business in the US. During the first half of the year, we have also identified new business opportunities worth an additional $1.5bn over the next five years, created through the combination of capabilities across the US and our other markets to drive our future growth plan.

TARS provides detection, tracking and monitoring capabilities in diverse environments at and beyond the US borders. Under this 5-year contract, QinetiQ will deliver aerostat operations, air-surface radar operations, ground control and data networking systems monitoring, and data analysis in support of border security and air sovereignty missions. The programme will be delivered through the provision of mission support, operations and maintenance, and lifecycle and programme management.

Steve Wadey, Group Chief Executive Officer of QinetiQ, said:

"Winning TARS is another significant and exciting milestone in the US - a clear demonstration of Avantus delivering growth. TARS is an integral part of our customer's mission to protect the US border and a critical capability to US national security. This win further reinforces our growth plan for Avantus and our wider business in the US."

About QinetiQ

QinetiQ is an integrated global defence and security company focused on mission-led innovation. QinetiQ employs circa 8,500 highly-skilled people, committed to creating new ways of protecting what matters most; testing technologies, systems, and processes to make sure they meet operational needs; and enabling customers to deploy new and enhanced capabilities with the assurance they will deliver the performance required. Visit our website www.QinetiQ.com.

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