Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Ministry of Defence
Situational Awareness Command and Control Delivery Team, DE&S, Spruce 1C, MOD Abbey Wood
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Contact
Karmen Webber
Country
United Kingdom
Region 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
SACC/00113 - Provision of Link 16 Network Management System (L16 NMS) - VTN
Reference number
SACC/00113
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 72315200 - Data network management services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
SACC/00113 - Provision of Link 16 Network Management System (L16 NMS) - VTN
Situational Awareness Common and Control Delivery Team, part of Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) within the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a Single Source 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.
Please note the Contract has not yet been placed. This VTN is for transparency purposes only.
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: £1,600,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
VTN – JNMS
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. The estimated value of this Contract is £1.6M ex VAT excluding 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 Low. The reference for the Risk Assessment is: RAR-240620A07.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: Yes
Description of options
2x 1 year In-Service Support Options
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:
VTN – JNMS
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. The estimated value of this Contract is £1.6M ex VAT excluding 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 Low. The reference for the Risk Assessment is: RAR-240620A07.
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
714074450
Title
SACC/00113 - Provision of Link 16 Network Management System (L16 NMS) -
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
20 February 2025
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
Thales UK Limited
Horizon House, Throop Road, Templecombe
Somerset
BA8 0DH
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)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot/concession: £1,600,000
Lowest offer: £1,600,000 / Highest offer: £1,600,000 taken into consideration
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
Situational Awareness Command and Control Delivery Team
SACC DT, DE&S, Spruce 1C, MOD Abbey Wood
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Country
United Kingdom