Contract

Floats and Gliders

  • Ministry of Defence

F03: Contract award notice

Notice identifier: 2025/S 000-011425

Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-04e545 (view related notices)

Published 26 March 2025, 9:38pm



Section one: Contracting authority

one.1) Name and addresses

Ministry of Defence

Portsmouth

Email

Lynne.Nazer100@mod.gov.uk

Country

United Kingdom

Region code

UK - United Kingdom

Internet address(es)

Main address

www.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

Floats and Gliders

two.1.2) Main CPV code

  • 35512400 - Unmanned underwater vehicles

two.1.3) Type of contract

Supplies

two.1.4) Short description

Project HECLA has previously procured a stockpile (x125) of disposable oceanographic profiling floats (OPFs) known as the APEX Argo profiling floats and routinely deploys them in support of oceanographic COLLECT. These OPF enables COMOPS to SUSTAIN, ENHANCE, PREPARE and UNDERSTAND the ocean environment globally to build the Oceanographic Intelligence and best deliver assets to effect Theatre Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) in the most critical areas. The requirement to collect Oceanographic data is enduring.

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: £1,110,000

two.2) Description

two.2.3) Place of performance

NUTS codes
  • UK - United Kingdom

two.2.4) Description of the procurement

Project HECLA has previously procured a stockpile (x125) of disposable oceanographic profiling floats (OPFs) known as the APEX Argo profiling floats and routinely deploys them in support of oceanographic COLLECT. These OPF enables COMOPS to SUSTAIN, ENHANCE, PREPARE and UNDERSTAND the ocean environment globally to build the Oceanographic Intelligence and best deliver assets to effect Theatre Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) in the most critical areas. The requirement to collect Oceanographic data is enduring.

two.2.5) Award criteria

Price

two.2.11) Information about options

Options: Yes

Description of options

Additional purchases

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 procurement falls outside the scope of application of the regulations

Explanation:

The Royal Navy, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a 2 year contract with a value of £1,110,000 Ex VAT to Teledyne Webb Research for the purchase of 40 disposable autonomous commercial profiling floats to the Royal Navy. 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(5)(b) of the PCR 2015 because competition is absent for technical reasons. This is because Royal Navy needs to be able to arrange for additional deliveries by the original supplier which are intended either as a partial replacement of supplies or installations or as the extension of existing supplies or installations where a change of supplier would oblige the contracting authority to acquire supplies having different technical characteristics which would result in incompatibility or disproportionate technical difficulties in operation and maintenance.

A contract with a different supplier would result in incompatibility with currently owned RN assets with resulting unacceptable differences in terms of data and maintenance as well as with US assets whose operational goals require shared data and usage. This would have an unacceptable impact on Geospatial Intelligence sharing with the US. The current systems have a proved accredited data path which enables support to current and future operations and this can only be met by Teledyne Webb Research as no alternative or substitutes can be used for interoperability reasons.

four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

four.2) Administrative information

four.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure

Notice number: 2025/S 000-006328


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

28 February 2025

five.2.2) Information about tenders

Number of tenders received: 1

Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 1

The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No

five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor

Teledyne Webb Research, a Business Unit of Teledyne Instruments, Inc.

49 Edgerton Drive, North Falmouth, MA 02556, United States

North Falmouth

Country

United States

NUTS code
  • US - United States
The contractor is an SME

No

five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)

Total value of the contract/lot: £1,110,000


Section six. Complementary information

six.4) Procedures for review

six.4.1) Review body

MOD

Portsmouth

Country

United Kingdom