Find a TenderAwarded
Published 24 Jul 2023, 16:43 BST

Official UK procurement notice

704942450A -Modification to Lipless Firing Needle Assembly VTN

Official notice

Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)

GoodsNegotiated without publication of a contract notice
Awarded value£578,899published contract · exc. VAT
Awarded 20 Jul 2023
Awarded to Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Modification to Lipless Firing Needle Assembly VTN

CPV: Main battle tanks

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1The Defence Equipment & Support Land Equipment Vehicle Support Team (VST), part of the…

The Defence Equipment & Support Land Equipment Vehicle Support Team (VST), part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a single source contract to Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) ltd for the manufacture and supply of quantity 400 modified Firing Needle Assemblies (FNA) for the L30A1 (120mm) gun of the Challenger 2 (CR2) main battle tank.

It is considered that this Contract can be placed under Regulation 16 (1) (a) (ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations on a Single Source basis with RBSL for Technical Reasons. The FNA is a safety critical internal component of the 120mm L30A1 CR2 gun and requires modification to the current design to prevent obturation failure. This modification is a safety requirement that must be fulfilled to ensure the safe functioning of the L30A1 CR2 Main Armament during operation.

RBSL are the Design Authority (DA) and the Original Equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the CR2 and have been the sole supplier of FNAs throughout the life of the L30A1 gun. They have been involved in the development of the L30A1 Weapon System from its inception and possess technical information relating to the Weapon TVE Monitoring system, of which the FNA forms part of. In addition to the Firing Needle Assembly (FNA), the Weapons TVE Monitoring system consists of two interfacing units which interact with the Weapon:

  • Tube Vent Electrical Display Unit (TVEDU)
  • Tube Vent Electrical Contactor unit (TVECU)

These two units are both procured and/or repaired through RBSL, and the Authority does not have access to the full technical information relating to their design specification. This information is required to ensure that the FNA is built to the correct standard as required to interact with the Weapon TVE Monitoring system and RBSL is the only supplier with this necessary technical information. Without the necessary technical information, there is the risk of misfires, causing a safety issue that would put the crew at risk during Operations.

This notice is not a request for expressions of interest so please do not apply to be invited to tender. This notice advises that the Authority has decided to negotiate a contract with the named supplier on a single source basis and is published for reasons of transparency. If you are interested in becoming a sub-contractor for this requirement, you should apply directly to the supplier named above.

The Authority is conducting a mandatory ten day standstill period ending at 17:00 on Thursday 3rd August 2023.

Delivery: UK · Bristol

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more
How bids were scored
  • Single source requirement: 0%

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Negotiated without publication of a contract notice
Legal basis
CELEX · 32009L0081 Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (Directive 2009/81/EC)
Procurement category
Goods
Notice status
Awarded
Procurement threshold
Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
24 Jul 2023, 16:43 BST
Last source update
24 Jul 2023, 16:43 BST
FTS notice number
2023/S 000-021360
Classification (CPV)
Main battle tanks
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-03e4e9 Find a Tender
Why no open competition

The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development under the conditions stated in the directive; The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons

Published justification

The Defence Equipment & Support Land Equipment Vehicle Support Team (VST), part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a single source contract to Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) ltd for the manufacture and supply of quantity 400 modified Firing Needle Assemblies (FNA) for the L30A1 (120mm) gun of the Challenger 2 (CR2) main battle tank.

It is considered that this Contract can be placed under Regulation 16 (1) (a) (ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations on a Single Source basis with RBSL for Technical Reasons. The FNA is a safety critical internal component of the 120mm L30A1 CR2 gun and requires modification to the current design to prevent obturation failure. This modification is a safety requirement that must be fulfilled to ensure the safe functioning of the L30A1 CR2 Main Armament during operation.

RBSL are the Design Authority (DA) and the Original Equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the CR2 and have been the sole supplier of FNAs throughout the life of the L30A1 gun. They have been involved in the development of the L30A1 Weapon System from its inception and possess technical information relating to the Weapon TVE Monitoring system, of which the FNA forms part of. In addition to the Firing Needle Assembly (FNA), the Weapons TVE Monitoring system consists of two interfacing units which interact with the Weapon:

  • Tube Vent Electrical Display Unit (TVEDU)
  • Tube Vent Electrical Contactor unit (TVECU)

These two units are both procured and/or repaired through RBSL, and the Authority does not have access to the full technical information relating to their design specification. This information is required to ensure that the FNA is built to the correct standard as required to interact with the Weapon TVE Monitoring system and RBSL is the only supplier with this necessary technical information. Without the necessary technical information, there is the risk of misfires, causing a safety issue that would put the crew at risk during Operations.

This notice is not a request for expressions of interest so please do not apply to be invited to tender. This notice advises that the Authority has decided to negotiate a contract with the named supplier on a single source basis and is published for reasons of transparency. If you are interested in becoming a sub-contractor for this requirement, you should apply directly to the supplier named above.

The Authority is conducting a mandatory ten day standstill period ending at 17:00 on Thursday 3rd August 2023.

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £578,8991 contract exc. VAT
Contracts signed 1latest 20 Jul 2023
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Rheinmetall BAE Systems LandModification to Lipless Firing Needle AssemblySubcontracting: declared£578,899 †—Awarded

Contracts

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Ministry of Defence

Contracting authorityCentral GovernmentMinistry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisionsDefence Bristol, UKContact name, email, phone

Dispute resolution & review bodies

  • Beth MonisReview body BristolContact email, phone

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.