Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Ministry of Defence
FIR 3C NH4 #4316, MoD Abbeywood South, BS34 8JH
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Contact
Grant Jenkins
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority
one.5) Main activity
Defence
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
<£10m
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 35512400 - Unmanned underwater vehicles
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
<£10M
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £10,000,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Contract for the maintenance, servicing and deployment of Underwater Mobile Acoustic Targets (UMAT) at MoD British Underwater Test Evaluation Centre (BUTEC), Scotland.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice
- The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development
- The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
- absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation:
The Secretary of State for Defence intends to enter into a contract with QinetiQ Limited for the for deployment, maintenance and support of the Underwater Mobile Acoustic Targets (UMAT) programme. The UMAT is an underwater target used by submarine crews during Spearfish Heavyweight Torpedo certification firings at MoD British Underwater Test Evaluation Centre (BUTEC), Scotland. In accordance with regulation 4 of the Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/697) this procurement is regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 as amended (in particular by SI 2019/697 and SI 2020/1450) (“DSPCR 2011”).
Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate. It is considered that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (as required by the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(d)(i)(aa) of the DSPCR 2011because the incumbent prime contractor and subcontractor undertaking the mandated upgrade programme of the UMAT are the only economic operators with the approved licencing and technical capability to upgrade the existing UMAT to maintain the Spearfish Firing Certification, based on the fact that their upgrade design programme is the only design approved and licenced by the US Department of Defence, the providers of the UMAT. The subcontractor will only maintain a contracting relationship with the current prime, and the shared ownership of the upgrade design makes too difficult to compete this requirement.
Any change of contractor from QinetiQ would require a full reset of the upgrade programme creating a significant capability gap of up to 24 months, as any new contractor would require design approval for required upgrades, and ITAR certification from the United States Department of Defence. The upgrade requirement was an unknown requirement prior to the award of the current incumbent contract, this additional work was unforeseen. It is necessary to fulfil a strategic capability and it cannot for technical or economic reasons be carried out separately from the original contract without major inconvenience to the contracting authority or the Royal Navy.
It is considered that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (as required by the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011. This is because the design, created and owned between QinetiQ and Emeritus Solutions, is the only technical upgrade solution that has been given formal approval by the US DoD to upgrade their UMATs. Any alternative upgrade design programme would require review, approval, and certification from the US DoD and would also require ITAR licencing approval. This could incur a capability gap of up to 24 months. UMAT is mandatory in the submarine crew Spearfish certification firing process, which is a strategic national capability for maintaining Spearfish aboard the Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD). Therefore for technical reasons only QinetiQ can provide the technical solution necessary to maintain this critical strategic capability.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
Section five. Award of contract/concession
Contract No
706857450
Title
Underwater Mobile Acoustic Targets
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
17 January 2024
five.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
QinetiQ Limited
Portsmouth
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot/concession: £10,000,000
five.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/lot/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Defence Equipment & Support
FIR 3C NH4 #4316, MoD Abbeywood South
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Country
United Kingdom