The Ministry of Defence has awarded a £2.5 million contract to Leeds-based digital healthcare consultancy Avenue3 to deliver a new system designed to transform medical care for deployed

UK forces.

Under the contract, Defence Medical Services will move Project Mercury from proof of concept into full delivery, creating a Deployed Clinical Record system that allows military clinicians to securely access, update and share medical records anywhere in the world.

Developed for the Cyber & Specialist Operations Command, Project Mercury will enable clinicians to work across multiple devices during global deployments, including in austere and remote environments where internet connectivity is limited or unavailable. The system uses Near Field Communication (NFC) technology — similar to contactless payments — allowing medical data to be transferred securely offline.

The award marks a significant milestone for the programme, with the first live release expected in spring 2026 and further development and rollout continuing through 2027.

The contract award supports the Defence Industrial Strategy 2025, which commits the MOD to increasing spending with small and medium-sized enterprises.

Clinical Lead for Project Mercury at the Defence Medical Services, Lt Col Michael Claydon said: “Project Mercury is a real game changer and will help military clinicians provide effective and accurate care to deployed personnel no matter where in the world they are serving.

Avenue3 is the ideal development partner for the delivery of the electronic health record the frontline medic needs. Through close engagement with UK and NATO clinicians and commanders we will rapidly optimise Mercury for current and future conflicts.

The contract award aligns with the Defence Industrial Strategy 2025 which outlines a commitment to increase MOD spending with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)”.

Alex McNair, Chief Technology Officer and Founder of Avenue3 added: “Project Mercury represents a major step forward in enabling safe, connected and resilient healthcare for deployed personnel. By building on open standards and a clinically led design approach, we’re helping to deliver world-class digital healthcare capabilities wherever they’re needed”.

The delivery phase of the programme was formally launched at an event held at the Green Howards Museum in Richmond, North Yorkshire, which highlighted the evolution of deployed military medicine alongside historical medical equipment.

Project Mercury is overseen by the Programme Cortisone team and delivered in collaboration with Defence Digital, as part of wider efforts to replace legacy systems with a secure, modern ecosystem of healthcare information services for the Armed Forces. Photo by Andysmith248, Wikimedia commons.