Opportunity

701577419 - Army Special Operations Brigade Rifle
Procurement and Support of an Armalite Rifle (AR) platform Alternative Individual Weapon (AIW) System.

  • Ministry of Defence

F17: Contract notice for contracts in the field of defence and security

Notice reference: 2021/S 000-017725

Published 26 July 2021, 10:45pm



Section one: Contracting authority/entity

one.1) Name, addresses and contact point(s)

Ministry of Defence

MOD Abbey Wood South, LEOC-STSP-DCC-Lethality, NH3 Cedar 2A #3260, Stoke Gifford

Bristol

BS34 8JH

Contact

Nicholas Harris

For the attention of

Nicholas Harris

Email(s)

nicholas.harris841@mod.gov.uk

Telephone

+44 3001585639

Country

United Kingdom

Internet address(es)

General address of the contracting authority/entity

https://des.mod.uk/

Further information

Further information can be obtained from the above mentioned contact point(s)

Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from

The above-mentioned contact point(s)

Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to

The above-mentioned contact point(s)

one.2) Type of the contracting authority

Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions

one.3) Main activity

Defence


Section two: Object of the contract

two.1) Description

two.1.1) Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority

701577419 - Army Special Operations Brigade Rifle

Procurement and Support of an Armalite Rifle (AR) platform Alternative Individual Weapon (AIW) System.

two.1.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance

Supplies

Purchase

NUTS code

  • UK - United Kingdom

two.1.3) Information on framework agreement

The notice involves the establishment of a framework agreement

two.1.4) Information on framework agreement

Framework agreement with several operators

Number of participants to the framework agreement envisaged: 6

Duration of the framework agreement

Duration in years: 5

Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement

Estimated value excluding VAT:

Range: between £500,000 and £90,000,000

two.1.5) Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

Stage 1 - DPQQ Down Select of economic operators to be issued the ITT to be invited to tender for a place on the framework agreement.

Stage 2 - Up to a maximum of six (6) economic operators shall be awarded tasks under the framework to supply and support the trial AIW systems

Stage 3 - All Economic operators that were awarded Tasking forms under the Framework agreement for the Authority to procured AIW systems under Stage 2 will be invited to participate in two mini competition under the framework for the Supply and Support of AIW Systems (One mini competition for the Rifle system and one mini competition for the Optic) for a period of ten (10) years.

two.1.6) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

  • 35321200 - Rifles

Additional CPV code(s)

  • 35300000 - Weapons, ammunition and associated parts
  • 38633000 - Telescopic sights

two.1.7) Information about subcontracting

The tenderer has to indicate in the tender any share of the contract it may intend to subcontract to third parties and any proposed subcontractor, as well as the subject-matter of the subcontracts for which they are proposed

The tenderer has to indicate any change occurring at the level of subcontractors during the execution of the contract

two.1.8) Lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

two.1.9) Information about variants

Variants will be accepted: No

two.2) Quantity or scope of the contract

two.2.1) Total quantity or scope

The Authority requires an Alternative Individual Weapon (AIW).

Economic Operators may submit only one AIW System consisting of a Rifle System from one OEM and an Optic System from one OEM. The Rifle and Optic do not have to be the same OEM.

Where an Agent represents an OEM, the agent is deemed to be the Economic Operator under the Framework agreement and therefore can only submit one AIW System.

Anticipated delivery of the trial AIW Systems to a UK MOD Location is required by December 2021 or March 2022 at the latest.

The AIW system must be optimised to be used with a suppressor fitted as its primary configuration. The AIW system will consist of:

1. A Rifle System (comprising of a Rifle and Signature Reduction System); AND

2. An Optic System

The AIW system will be a 5.56mm Armalite Rifle (AR) platform, optimised for use with L15A2, a 62gr 5.56x45 NATO ball round, equivalent to SS109.

An AR platform is defined as being gas operated with a rotating, locking bolt.

The rifle should have a non-reciprocating charging handle.

The rifle’s controls are to include: a magazine release, working parts release and a rotating selector lever that incorporates a safe setting.

The rifle is to have a standard configuration, not bullpup, with the magwell in-front of the trigger housing.

The rifles upper and lower are to be mated using industry standard pivot / takedown pins located at the front and rear of the lower receiver.

Signature Reduction System:

The Signature Reduction System is to be detachable, to enable the operator to configure the Rifle System to meet operational requirements.

Optic System:

The Optic system is to complement the Rifle and should be ballistically matched to the stated ammunition nature and supplied barrel length.

Alternative Individual Weapon System:

As a complete system, the AIW system is expected to perform consistently regardless of its configuration, i.e. with or without a Signature Reduction Device fitted, across all operational scenarios.

This Procurement is subject to the following Staged approached:

Stage 1 - DPQQ Down Select of economic operators to be issued the ITT to be invited to tender for a place on the framework agreement.

Stage 2 - Up to a maximum of six (6) economic operators shall be awarded tasks under the framework to supply and support the trial AIW systems

All Economic operators that have successfully passed the DPQQ stage will be invited to submit a single bid under the framework agreement for the provision of a minimum quantity of 88 AIW systems up to a maximum quantity of 528 AIW systems depending on the number of economic operators.

The economic operators will be reimbursed for the cost of the Supply and support of the trial systems.

Following the outcome of the competition at Stage 3, it is envisaged that those Trials weapons supplied under stage 2 will be utilised by Army HQ to inform the 24-Hr Digital Lethality Project that is in the Concept Stage, therefore offering long-term Value for Money (VFM) to the Authority.

Stage 3 - All Economic operators that were awarded Tasking forms under the Framework agreement for the Authority to procure AIW systems under Stage 2 will be invited to participate in two mini competitions under the framework for the Supply and Support of AIW Systems (One mini competition for the Rifle system and one mini competition for the Optic System) for a period of ten (10) years.

The mini competitions will include: pricing to procure the AIW system, option pricing for additional systems, technical through life support (TTLS) requirements, full evaluation methodology (commercial & technical), and will outline the Safe & Suitable for Service (S3) and User

Trials requirements their systems will be evaluated against.

Following the evaluation at Stage 3:-

One successful economic operator will be awarded a contract for the Rifle and One successful economic operator will be awarded a contract for the Optic. This could be the same economic operator being awarded the contracts for the Rifle system and Optic system to enable the Authority to procure the Full Operational Capability (FOC) circa 3,000 systems with options for the Total Fleet Requirement circa 10,000 Systems.

Estimated value excluding VAT:

Range: between £500,000 and £90,000,000

two.2.3) Information about renewals

This contract is subject to renewal: No


Section three. Legal, economic, financial and technical information

three.2) Conditions for participation

three.2.1) Personal situation

Criteria regarding the personal situation of economic operators (that may lead to their exclusion) including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Suppliers Instructions How to Express Interest in this Tender:

1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once)

- Browse to the eSourcing Portal

- Click the “Click here to register” link

- Accept the terms and conditions and click “continue”

- Enter your correct business and user details

- Note the username you chose and click “Save” when complete

- You will shortly receive an email with your unique password (please keep this secure)

2. Express an Interest in the tender

- Login to the portal with the username/password

- Click the "PQQs Open to All Suppliers" link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires open to any registered supplier)

- Click on the relevant PQQ to access the content.

- Click the “Express Interest” button in the “Actions” box on the left-hand side of the page.

- This will move the PQQ into your “My PQQs” page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only)

- Click on the PQQ code, you can now access any attachments by clicking the “Settings and Buyer Attachments” in the “Actions” box

3. Responding to the tender

- You can now choose to “Reply” or “Reject” (please give a reason if rejecting)

- You can now use the ‘Messages’ function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification

- Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ

- There may be a mixture of online & offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available)

If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk.

Criteria regarding the personal situation of subcontractors (that may lead to their rejection) including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Suppliers Instructions How to Express Interest in this Tender:

1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once)

- Browse to the eSourcing Portal

- Click the “Click here to register” link

- Accept the terms and conditions and click “continue”

- Enter your correct business and user details

- Note the username you chose and click “Save” when complete

- You will shortly receive an email with your unique password (please keep this secure)

2. Express an Interest in the tender

- Login to the portal with the username/password

- Click the "PQQs Open to All Suppliers" link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires open to any registered supplier)

- Click on the relevant PQQ to access the content.

- Click the “Express Interest” button in the “Actions” box on the left-hand side of the page.

- This will move the PQQ into your “My PQQs” page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only)

- Click on the PQQ code, you can now access any attachments by clicking the “Settings and Buyer Attachments” in the “Actions” box

3. Responding to the tender

- You can now choose to “Reply” or “Reject” (please give a reason if rejecting)

- You can now use the ‘Messages’ function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification

- Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ

- There may be a mixture of online & offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available)

If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk.

three.2.2) Economic and financial ability

Criteria regarding the economic and financial standing of economic operators (that may lead to their exclusion)

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As detailed in the DPQQ

Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: As detailed in the DPQQ

Criteria regarding the economic and financial standing of subcontractors (that may lead to their exclusion)

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As detailed in the DPQQ

Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: As detailed in the DPQQ

three.2.3) Technical and/or professional capacity

Criteria regarding the technical and/or professional ability of economic operators (that may lead to their exclusion)

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As detailed in the DPQQ

Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: As detailed in the DPQQ

Criteria regarding the technical and/or professional ability of subcontractors (that may lead to their rejection)

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As detailed in the DPQQ

Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: As detailed in the DPQQ


Section four: Procedure

four.1) Type of procedure

four.1.1) Type of procedure

Restricted

four.1.2) Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

Envisaged minimum number 3 and maximum number 6

Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates: The criteria stated in the DPQQ will be used to down select the number of potential economic operators to be taken forward to Stage 2. A maximum of six (6) economic operators from the evaluation, will be offered contracts from the Authority for the procurement & support of trial weapons.

four.2) Award criteria

four.2.1) Award criteria

the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document

four.2.2) Information about electronic auction

An electronic auction has been used: yes

Additional information about electronic auction: It is intended than an electronic auction would be used at Stage 3 (mini competitions) for the procurement of circa 3,000 AIW Systems.

four.3) Administrative information

four.3.1) File reference number attributed by the contracting authority

701577419

four.3.2) Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

no

four.3.4) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

18 August 2021 - 11:59pm

four.3.5) Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

10 September 2021

four.3.6) Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up

English


Section six: Complementary information

six.3) Additional information

The Contracting Authority intends to use an e-Tendering system in this procurement exercise, please visit www.contracts.mod.uk for full details and to register your interest in this procurement.

DPQQ REFERENCE INFO:

- DPQQ Code: 701577419-DPQQ

- DPQQ Title: ASOB Rifle-DPQQ

PROJECT CYBER RISK REFERENCE INFORMATION:

- Risk Assessment Ref (RAR): 469463400

- Cyber Risk Profile (CRP): Very Low

BIDDERS CONFERENCE:

The Authority will be holding a Bidders Conference for all suppliers that register their interest through the DSP to complete the DPQQ. This will take place on: Thursday 29th July, 13:00-14:00 UK BST, and will be held on Microsoft Teams. Please contact Lisa.Sinfield100@mod.gov.uk to request the invite to attend.