Official UK procurement notice
The Provision of a Design, De-modification & Installation Service for Communication Equipment in Police Rotary and Fixed Wing Aircraft
Authority: West Yorkshire Combined Authority (Local council)·On behalf of: BLUELIGHT COMMERCIAL LIMITED
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThis 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.
- 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 lotLot #1Rotary WingRenewalPublished value£5,180,000
Provision of a Design, De-modification & Installation of Communication Equipment in Police Rotary Wing Aircraft
Lot #2Fixed WingRenewalPublished value£1,580,000
Provision of a Design, De-modification & Installation of Communication Equipment in Police Fixed Wing Aircraft
What it takes to wini
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 morei
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).
Published award criteria (3)
- Social Value
- Quality
- Price
- 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)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ed88Find 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- 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
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- Tender notice published56 days ago27 Aug 2026, 12:56 BST
- Clarification questions by15 days ago7 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline1 day ago21 Oct 2026, 13:00 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Award decision expected byin 224 days2 Jun 2027, 23:59 BST
- Contract startsin 252 days1 Jul 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published27 Aug 2026, 12:56 BSTUK4
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- BlueLight Commercial LimitedProcuring entityConducting procurement activity on behalf of the National Police Air Service
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Tender documents are available for download via the portal
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender