Official UK procurement notice
Provision of Link 16 Network Management System (L16 NMS)
Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Situational Awareness Command and Control (SACC) Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence intends to award a contract for the In-Service Support of a Link 16 Network Management System (NMS), with Thales UK Limited for a period of 2 years with options.
CPV: Data network management services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1The United Kingdom (UK) Defence has an enduring requirement to manage and monitor all…Awarded
The United Kingdom (UK) Defence has an enduring requirement to manage and monitor all Link 16 activity within the UK and support up to 2 deployed operations. The NMS allows the Network Management operators to monitor network activity and modify the network architecture to provide optimal Link 16 network operating conditions. NMS also monitors all Link 16 activity to ensure compliance with the MOD/Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) UK Frequency Clearance Agreement (FCA).
The current equipment set up is unique and the software installed on the equipment is owned and supported by the Contractor. As the OEM with proprietary rights for the software that is installed on the equipment, support can only be provided by Thales UK Limited, as only they hold the technical information, tools and expertise required. In the immediate term changing the system would have a potentially detrimental impact and could result in an inability to utilise the Link 16 network across all platforms in the UK Flight Information Region (FIR). This would significantly curtail pan domain platform’s ability to train for operations.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 10 Aug 2026, 09:42 BST
- Last source update
- 10 Aug 2026, 09:42 BST
- Authority reference
SACC/00113- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-075553- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06dfb8Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
The Situational Awareness Command and Control (SACC) Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence (the Authority), intends to award a contract for the In-Service Support of a Link 16 Network Management System (NMS), with Thales UK Limited (the Contractor) for a period of 2 years with options.
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 as the Contractor owns the relevant technical information relating to the equipment and only the Contractor has the required technical expertise and know-how necessary to fulfil the Authority’s requirement.
United Kingdom (UK) Defence has an enduring requirement to manage and monitor all Link 16 activity within the UK and support up to 2 deployed operations. The NMS allows the Network Management operators to monitor network activity and modify the network architecture to provide optimal Link 16 network operating conditions. NMS also monitors all Link 16 activity to ensure compliance with the MOD/Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) UK Frequency Clearance Agreement (FCA).
The current equipment set up is unique and the software installed on the equipment is owned and supported by the Contractor. As the OEM with proprietary rights for the software that is installed on the equipment, support can only be provided by Thales UK Limited, as only they hold the technical information, tools and expertise required. In the immediate term changing the system would have a potentially detrimental impact and could result in an inability to utilise the Link 16 network across all platforms in the UK Flight Information Region (FIR). This would significantly curtail pan domain platform’s ability to train for operations.
The Cyber Risk profile is Level 1 - Foundational. The reference for the Risk Assessment is: RAR-JYYDQKV
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thales UK Limited | £9,820,902 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Provision of Link 16 Network Management System (L16 NMS) · Thales UK Limited
- Signed
- 7 Aug 2026
- Value
- £9,820,902
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1bids | — | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Situational Awareness Command and Control Delivery TeamReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Thales UK LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.