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Published 27 Aug 2026, 12:56 BST

Official UK procurement notice

The Provision of a Design, De-modification & Installation Service for Communication Equipment in Police Rotary and Fixed Wing Aircraft

Official notice

Authority: West Yorkshire Combined Authority (Local council)·On behalf of: BLUELIGHT COMMERCIAL LIMITED

2 lotsServicesCompetitive flexible procedureAbove threshold
Published estimate£6,760,000total for 2 lots · £8,112,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 21 Oct 2026
Lots 2see the lot list below
Contract term 2 yrs 6 moends 31 Dec 2029 · up to 31 Dec 2030 with extensions · starts 1 Jul 2027

What is being bought2 lots · detail below

Published requirement description

This tender is being published by BlueLight Commercial on behalf of the National Police Air Service (NPAS) who are seeking to award contracts for 'the Provision of a Design, De-modification and Installation Service for Communication Equipment in Police Rotary and Fixed Wing Aircraft.'

Scope:

The Authority requires a UK Part 21 approved modification that provisions the installation of Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) namely a new Aircraft Communication System (ACS) as part of the Emergency Services Mobile Communication Programme (ESMCP). Thereafter, the Authority requires the execution of an approved installation and associated testing of the ACS along with a Certificate of Release to Service (CRS).

For the Authority to successfully transition onto the new Emergency Services Network (ESN), the Authority requires the de-modification (removal) of existing TETRA radio equipment and the installation of compatible replacement new hardware that initially supports a new TETRA solution and pre-positions for the future ESN LTE capability via dual wiring looms and antennae. This will provide the Initial Operating Capability (IOC) to ensure continued operational capability during the ESMCP transitional period and compliance with the future ESN requirements.

The scope includes the removal of the existing TETRA, and where applicable, marine band VHF radio suite, the design for the installation of the replacement solution; and the subsequent installation of IOC and marine band VHF hardware across the Authority’s aircraft fleet.

Total aircraft to be modified:

Rotary Wing =11

Fixed Wing = 4

This contract is being tendered on behalf of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) who are the contracting authority for NPAS. NPAS is not a separate, incorporated entity and therefore WYCA currently enters into contractual arrangements on behalf of NPAS.

The Chief Constable of West Yorkshire is responsible for the operational delivery of NPAS. BlueLight Commercial provides commercial support services to police forces and blue light organisations across England and Wales and has been appointed by WYCA to administer the Procurement.

The requirement will be tendered as two separate lots as follows;

  • Lot 1: Rotary Wing
  • Lot 2: Fixed Wing

Bidders may bid for either one or both lots.

BlueLight Commercial reserves the right to refine the award criteria at Stage 3 of this procurement process, in accordance with Section 24 of the Procurement Act 2023. The final award criteria and associated weightings will be published prior to the invitation of final tenders at Stage 3 of the procurement. Refinements to the award criteria may include, but are not limited to:

a. adding sub-criteria to those set out in the tender notice/associated tender documents;

b. adding more detail to existing main criteria set out in tender notice/associated tender documents;

c. adding more detail to existing sub-criteria set out in the tender notice/associated tender documents;

d. changing weightings within the pre-existing range as indicated in the table above.

The potential range of the Award Criteria weightings are detailed as follows:

Price: 40% - 50%

Quality: 40% - 50%

Social Value: 10%

The anticipated contract period will be 1st July 2027 until 31st December 2029 with the option to extend for 12 months. Any changes to this commencement date will be communicated to all Bidders through the ‘BlueLight’ e-Commercial portal.

atamis-7459.my.site.com/s/Welcome ↗

  • How the procedure runs: Stage 1: Initial Tender Stage: Assessment of Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) response, assessment of initial tender responses. Bidders will not be shortlisted at this stage. Stage 2: Negotiation Stage: Invite bidders to negotiate on proposed solutions. Bidders will not be shortlisted at this stage. Stage 3: Final Tender Stage: Assessment of final tenders.
  • No preliminary market engagement: UK2 Notice published = ocds-h6vhtk-059050

CPV: Aircraft maintenance services · Installation services of radio equipment

Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure

2 lots · all with a published value (£6,760,000 together) · same evaluation weights on every lot
Lot #1Rotary WingRenewal 2 yrs 6 moPublished value£5,180,000

Provision of a Design, De-modification & Installation of Communication Equipment in Police Rotary Wing Aircraft

Contract period: 1 Jul 2027 – 31 Dec 2029 (2 yrs 6 mo) · up to 31 Dec 2030 with extensionsValue: £5,180,000 exc. VAT · £6,216,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: UK
Extensions: 12 months
Lot #2Fixed WingRenewal 2 yrs 6 moPublished value£1,580,000

Provision of a Design, De-modification & Installation of Communication Equipment in Police Fixed Wing Aircraft

Contract period: 1 Jul 2027 – 31 Dec 2029 (2 yrs 6 mo) · up to 31 Dec 2030 with extensionsValue: £1,580,000 exc. VAT · £1,896,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: UK
Extensions: 12 months

What it takes to win
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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 · same split on all 2 lots
Quality: 50%Price: 40%Social value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
  • Social Value
  • Quality
  • Price
Lot distribution rule: Bidders may bid for either one or both lots.
What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Competitive flexible procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Closed
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
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
27 Aug 2026, 12:56 BST
Last source update
27 Aug 2026, 12:56 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 2 Jun 2027
Authority reference
BLC0292
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-081739
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Aircraft maintenance servicesInstallation services of radio equipment
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ed88 Find a Tender
How it runs

Stage 1: Initial Tender Stage: Assessment of Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) response, assessment of initial tender responses. Bidders will not be shortlisted at this stage.

Stage 2: Negotiation Stage: Invite bidders to negotiate on proposed solutions. Bidders will not be shortlisted at this stage.

Stage 3: Final Tender Stage: Assessment of final tenders.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: Atamis (Health Family) · Who buys & how to bid on Atamis
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · one account PER buying organisation portal · password resets come "from Salesforce.com" (check spam)
Submission deadline
21 Oct 2026, 13:00 BST
Clarification deadline
7 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Tenders must be submitted electronically via e-portal atamis-7459.my.site.com/s/Welcome ↗

to the specific Atamis project no. C20698.

Please see instructions to bidders document for full details of the procurement timeline and submission requirements.

Timeline

27 Aug 2026 → 1 Jul 2027 · 5 dates
  1. Tender notice published56 days ago
    27 Aug 2026, 12:56 BST
  2. Clarification questions by15 days ago
    7 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
  3. Submission deadline1 day ago
    21 Oct 2026, 13:00 BST
  4. Today
    22 Oct 2026
  5. Award decision expected byin 224 days
    2 Jun 2027, 23:59 BST
  6. Contract startsin 252 days
    1 Jul 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    27 Aug 2026, 12:56 BST
    UK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

West Yorkshire Combined Authority

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PHYG-7328-ZLQJ Wellington House, 40-50 Wellington Street, Leeds, Yorkshire & Humber, LS1 2DEContact name, email

Other public bodies

  • BlueLight Commercial LimitedProcuring entityConducting procurement activity on behalf of the National Police Air ServiceGB-COH: 12517649GB-PPON: PHNR-1637-NVGV London, LondonContact name, email

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender