Scope
Description
The Secretary of State for Defence (the Authority), through the Sonar and Maritime Sensors (SaMS) Project Team within Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), intends to place a 5-year contract, with an estimated total value of £1.32m (VAT inc), with Ultra Maritime UK (UMUK) for the In-Service Support of the Submarine Acoustic Warfare Control System (SAWCS) Stores Control Unit (SCU).
SAWCS is a bespoke Inboard countermeasure control system developed exclusively for Royal Navy (RN) submarines. It is used with Submarine Counter-measure Acoustic Device (SCAD) 101/102 providing defence to RN submarines from hostile torpedoes by providing a torpedo decoy capability. Support will be provided to the RN submarines fitted with SAWCS to maintain availability of the units, including spares maintenance, engineering support and obsolescence management.
Contract 1. Submarine Acoustic Warfare Control System (SAWCS) Store Control Unit (SCU) In Service Support (ISS)
Supplier
Contract value
- £1,100,000 excluding VAT
- £1,320,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Earliest date the contract will be signed
31 October 2025
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 November 2025 to 31 March 2031
- 5 years, 5 months
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 50660000 - Repair and maintenance services of military electronic systems
Other information
Description of risks to contract performance
Advances in technology or possible component obsolescence/failure during the life of the contract could leave the equipment in its current form unable to perform to the operational level required and jeopardise the satisfactory performance of the contract. The mitigation for this risk would be the introduction of a Technology Refresh to the SCUs under this contract to maintain the safe operation of the equipment. This may therefore require in a contract modification in accordance with Paragraph 5 and/or Paragraph 10 of Schedule 8 of the Procurement Act 2023.
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Direct award
Special regime
Defence and security
Direct award justification
Additional or repeat goods, services or works - extension or partial replacement
It is considered that the direct award of the contract is lawful pursuant to Section 41 and paragraph 7 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023 for additional or repeat goods, works and services. The proposed In-Service Support is a continuation of the existing support provided by UMUK under the current contract.
The SCU is a safety-critical piece of equipment that relies on high integrity software to operate. A change in supplier would result in the Authority receiving services that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing services, and the difference or incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation or maintenance. In particular:
1. UMUK are the original equipment manufacturer who have the experience and technical expertise to maintain the equipment. A new supplier would need a disproportionate amount of time to build the detailed technical understanding of the intricacies of the SCU and interfaces in order to maintain the safe operation of the equipment from the outset of the contract and throughout its duration, ensuring no gap in operational capability.
2. If the hardware, interfaces or processing architecture change as a result of the Authority receiving a different service, and this in any way impacts on the current software build, the costs of embodying that change would be highly cost-prohibitive and take a disproportionate amount of time to regain safety qualification. Without this qualification the system would not be deemed 'Safe to Operate' and would have to be withdrawn from service.
These factors increase the risk that a change of provider would result in difference or incompatibility which would bring about disproportionate technical difficulties in operation or maintenance. For these reasons it is not considered that another provider could meet the required level of support without introducing an unacceptable level of technical, safety and security risk to MOD capability.
Supplier
Ultra Maritime UK Ltd
- Companies House: 14355663
Knaves Beech Business Centre
High Wycombe
HP10 9UT
United Kingdom
Email: rabia.akhtar@umaritime.uk
Region: UKJ13 - Buckinghamshire CC
Small or medium-sized enterprise (SME): No
Voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE): No
Contract 1. Submarine Acoustic Warfare Control System (SAWCS) Store Control Unit (SCU) In Service Support (ISS)
Contracting authority
Defence Equipment and Support
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PVRL-5831-GLMM
MOD Abbey Wood
Bristol
BS34 8JH
United Kingdom
Email: moira.duggan314@mod.gov.uk
Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/defence-equipment-and-support
Region: UKK12 - Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire
Organisation type: Public authority - central government