Award

National Engine Support Contract 2.5 Extension

  • Ministry of Defence

F15: Voluntary ex ante transparency notice

Notice identifier: 2025/S 000-008296

Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-04ea5b

Published 7 March 2025, 9:24am



Section one: Contracting authority/entity

one.1) Name and addresses

Ministry of Defence

MOD ABBEY WOOD

Bristol

BS34 8JH

Contact

Monika Zembrowska

Email

monika.zembrowska100@mod.gov.uk

Country

United Kingdom

Region code

UK - United Kingdom

Internet address(es)

Main address

https://contracts.mod.uk/

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

National Engine Support Contract 2.5 Extension

two.1.2) Main CPV code

  • 50211212 - Aircraft-engine repair services

two.1.3) Type of contract

Services

two.1.4) Short description

The provision of in-service support services at Maintenance Level 2 for the TP400 engine on the A400M aircraft

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: £12,000,000

two.2) Description

two.2.3) Place of performance

NUTS codes
  • UK - United Kingdom

two.2.4) Description of the procurement

The A400M Project Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to extend NESC2.5 by 12 months for the provision of in-service support services at Maintenance Level 2 for the TP400 engine with Rolls Royce PLC

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 A400M Project Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to extend the current A400M National Engine Support Contract (NESC2.5) contract 706920454 for the provision of in-service support at Maintenance Level 2 (ML2) for the TP400 engine with Rolls-Royce PLC by a further 12 months from 1 October 2025. This is to allow additional time for preparation and placement of NESC3 contract with Rolls-Royce PLC. The value of the extension is estimated to be £12,000,000 exclusive of VAT.

It is considered that this contract can be placed using the Negotiated Procedure without Prior Publication of a Contract Notice pursuant to Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the UK Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 for technical reasons.

The Europrop International (EPI) consortium is tasked with designing, developing, manufacturing and supporting the TP400 engine to power the A400M aircraft. In order to provide the required technical services at ML2 there is specific access, technical know-how and specific interoperability with EPI required which could only be provided by an EPI member company, noting EPI's position as the TP400 Engine Design Organisation and the party responsible for providing TP400 ML3 support. In addition, the contractor operating ML2 support must hold Maintenance Approved Organisation Scheme (MAOS) approval, with a Military Aviation authority (MAA) certified ML2 Repair Facility.

Rolls-Royce PLC are the only UK based EPI member company with the specialist know how, equipment and tooling required to provide ML2 support services for the TP400, including being the only operator with a fully accredited TP400 Engine Uninstalled Test Facility in the UK. A key requirement of the ML2 In-Service Support is the required Turn Around Time (TAT) for ML2 in-service support services for the TP400 engine, which is critical to the operational output required and has been calculated based on the engineering tasks required. Any non-UK based provider of this service could not consistently meet the required TAT, due to transport and customs delays requiring additional time.

Rolls-Royce PLC are also the only operator to have a fully accredited MAA certified ML2 Repair Facility with a number of installed turnover stands in the UK. This, together with their specialist knowledge, access to EPI and infrastructure to provide support services in line with technical requirements, means that they are the only operator able to conduct the ML2 support services for the UK's TP400 Engines.

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/concession

Contract No

706920454

Title

National Engine Support Contract 2.5 Extension

A contract/lot is awarded: Yes

five.2) Award of contract/concession

five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract

6 March 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

Rolls Royce PLC

Bristol

BS34 7QE

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: £12,000,000

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

Ministry of Defence, Defence Equipment and Support

Bristol

Country

United Kingdom