Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Ministry of Defence
Portsmouth
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
UPGRADE AND SUPPORT OF SRS FUSION - 702791450
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 35512400 - Unmanned underwater vehicles
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
Upgrade and Support of existing MOD SRS FUSION Devices
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: £209,800
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- US - United States
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Upgrade of existing equipment.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: Yes
Description of options
Option for Level 3 corrective maintenance package per system
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
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- The services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
- absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation:
The Royal Navy, part of the Ministry of Defence, intends to award a 2 year contract with a value of £183,000 to Strategic Robotic Systems (SRS) for the support and upgrade of the FUSION Remotely Operated Vehicle (Vehicle), which is used to carry out ordonnance disposal in ports and harbours.
In accordance with the provisions of The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 SI No. 2020/1319, this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) as amended (in particular by SI 2020/1319). 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 (in accordance with the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) of the PCR 2015 because competition is absent for technical reasons.
This is because SRS is the Original Equipment Manufacturer of the Vehicle. No other supplier would have the technical expertise, know-how and technical documentation (including in particular the source code for the Vehicle’s software) necessary to safely support and upgrade the Vehicle. A new supplier would need to reverse engineer the software, which would introduce unacceptable risk to the integrity of the Vehicle, its functionality and its operational effectiveness.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No
Section five. Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
17 February 2022
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Strategic Robot Systems
14842 NE 95th Street
Country
United States
NUTS code
- US - United States
The contractor is an SME
Yes
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot: £209,800
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Portsmouth
Country
United Kingdom