MHC Procurement of TSC2002 IFF System & Associated Equipment - Amendment 1 - VTN

CPV: Unmanned underwater vehicles

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

15 Jun 2022, 14:33 BST

Last source update

15 Jun 2022, 14:33 BST

Authority reference

701162380

FTS notice number

2022/S 000-016426

Classification (CPV)

Unmanned underwater vehicles

Delivery area

South East (UKJ28)

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-0346cf 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

In accordance with regulation 4 of The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/697) this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations (DSPCR) 2011 as amended (in particular by SI 2019/697 and SI 2020/1450). It is considered that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (in accordance with the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011 for technical reasons.

The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Thales UK and its parent company TDMS France are the only company which can supply the TSC2002 IFF equipment. This specific model of IFF is required to be issued by the Authority to TDMS France as GFE, as an element of the current phase of the joint UK/French Maritime Mine Countermeasures (MMCM) Contract.

The MMCM Programme is a collaborative contract between the UK and French Governments with Thales DMS France, for the design and manufacture of the next generation of autonomous underwater mine hunting capability. The Agreement stems from, and forms part of, the Lancaster House Agreement made between the UK and French nations and is based upon the idea of co-operation and collaboration between the two nations and their capabilities within this area.

The integration of the Thales UK TSC2002 is critical to ensure that the UK system has commonality, compatibility and interoperability with the French system, which is to include an identical type of IFF.

There is a strict technical impracticality for any other economic operator to undertake the work required within this proposed contract as the specific model of IFF system is proprietary to Thales UK and its parent company TDMS France. This specific model of IFF system is necessary for interoperability, compatibility and commonality purposes, in order to ensure successful testing and integration into the UK/French MMCM systems. Both the UK and French MMCM systems have been designed to use identical IFF models, in order to ensure their ability to communicate effectively and function interoperably, and so that the interface between the two systems can be maximised. The requirement for interoperability is contingent on Thales’ specific expertise of their system, and on this basis the use of an alternative supplier or equipment is not viable as they would not allow the same level of compatibility. Failure to provide the TSC2002 model of IFF would impact upon the upcoming production phase of the MMCM systems, which have been designed around the integration and use of this specific IFF system. The integration and use of alternative models of IFF systems would not be possible without significant redesign of the overall system, along with a change to the common Training DLOD and Support DLOD.

• Thales UK LimitedAwarded supplier Thales UK, Manor Royal, Crawley, Crawley, South East, RH10 9HAContact email, phoneShow contact details

No document links were published on the notice.