703918454 - PA23 EOST Support Extension

The Secretary of State for Defence (the ‘Authority’) intends to extend contract CHC/648 by 1 year with the end date set for March 2027. The contract is held with Leonardo UK Ltd (previously Leonardo MW Ltd, Selex ES Ltd, DRS Technologies UK Ltd) for the delivery of continual support to the UK Chinook fleet’s existing Electro Optical Sensor Turret (EOST) system. The estimated contract value for this extension is circa £2M (Ex-VAT). It is considered that the award of this contract extension as a Direct Award is lawful in accordance with paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023. This is on the grounds that, due to an absence of competition for technical reasons and given that there are no reasonable alternatives, only a particular supplier can supply the goods, services or works required.

Leonardo UK Ltd is the Titan 385ES Turret Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and appointed Design Organization (DO). Leonardo holds the relevant technical skills, engineering know how and equipment and has exclusive rights to the necessary technical data, drawings and design information (which the Authority does not have a right to obtain). It is not possible for another supplier to provide the necessary support to the UK Chinook fleet’s existing Electro Optical Sensor Turret (EOST) system without access to the skills, knowledge and proprietary technical information that only Leonardo holds. Due to this absence of competition for technical reasons, and there being no reasonable alternative, the Authority considers that a direct award to a single supplier is lawful in accordance with Schedule 5, paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023.