Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence - Defence Digital Commercial, Ash 0a, MoD Abbey Wood
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Contact
Samantha Temblett
samantha.temblett100@mod.gov.uk
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://modgovuk.sharepoint.com/sites/intranet
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
Production and Installation of Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 Baseline Equipment (which consist of bespoke integrated satellite communications equipment) for the Royal Navy’s Type 26 Ships 2 & 3
Reference number
706217450-A
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 32530000 - Satellite-related communications equipment
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
Procurement and Installation of Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 Baseline Equipment (which consist of bespoke integrated satellite communications equipment) for the Royal Navy’s T26 fleet Ships 2 & 3.
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: £4,000,000
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 32324310 - Satellite antennas
- 32344250 - Radio installations
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
Main site or place of performance
Dockyards and Defence Sites across the UK; Project Team will be based in Bristol
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Procurement and Installation of Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 Baseline Equipment (which consist of bespoke integrated satellite communications equipment) for the Royal Navy’s T26 fleet Ships 2 & 3.
The aim of this procurement is to enable the delivery, installation and set to work (STW) of the new Baseline 4.2 UHF SATCOM equipment (EFMTE) for Ship 2 and for Ship 3. This baseline has been endorsed by Naval Command Headquarters (NCHQ) & Director Special Forces (SF).
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 Defence Digital Tactical Systems Service Executive (TacSys SE) team, part of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MoD), intends to award a four-year contract to STS Defence Limited for the production and installation of Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 baseline equipment (which consist of bespoke integrated satellite communications equipment) for the Royal Navy’s T26 fleet Ships 2 and 3 only. This equipment will meet the Fleet User Requirement Document, such that the user shall be able to provide a communications service to support Information Exchange Requirements (IER) for simultaneous voice and data. Capable of supporting DAMA, FM, High Performance Waveform (HPW) and Integrated Waveform (IW) data services within 25KHz channel. It shall have the ability (i) for one antenna to access two different satellites operating on different waveforms and different frequencies simultaneously; and (ii) to interface the modems used by the Royal Navy Fleet and also the radios used by embarked forces through the same single antennae.
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 2011 as amended (in particular by SI 2019/697 and SI 2020/1450). Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate.
It is considered that this contract can be placed using the Negotiated Procedure Without Prior Publication of a Contract Notice in the UK e-notification service (in accordance with the relevant legislation) pursuant to Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011 (as amended) for Technical Reasons.
STS Defence Limited have previously designed a bespoke UHF SATCOM 4.2 Design capability in partnership with SNXP Limited which is accredited for use by the MoD on the T26 Fleet. The installation of this capability in T26 Ship 1 was carried out by STS Defence Limited under a task on an existing MoD Contract. This Contract was competed, and STS Defence Limited was awarded the contract. STS Defence and SNXP Limited have an exclusivity agreement that means SNXP Limited will only supply STS Defence Limited with the required hardware design and technical expertise to enable them to complete the installation into T26 Ships.
Contractual timelines for the delivery of this Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 baseline equipment capability into T26 Ships 2 and 3 are already embedded within the existing Type 26 Ship Building Contract (Contract Ref. No. SHIPACQ036) as a requirement to enable repeat supply and fit.
Only STS Defence/SNXP Limited have the technical ability and experience necessary to produce and install this Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 baseline equipment capability into T26 Ships 2 and 3 in a manner that is accredited for use by the MoD and meets the required timescales.
It is not viable for another supplier to deliver an alternative design that meets the MoD’s technical requirements within the necessary timescales. Further, the STS Defence/SNXP SATCOM design has been approved by Naval Command Headquarters (NCHQ) & Director Special Forces (SF) to ensure it is fit for use. This design and accreditation process took several years to complete. To bring in a third-party supplier to design new equipment, obtain MoD approval and accreditation for the new design and then build and install it on T26 Ships 2 and 3 would incur significant and disproportionate additional time and cost consequences to the MoD, which would also result in significant delays to Vessel Acceptance Date (the date by which MoD are required to have agreed that the newly built T26 Ship has been delivered to an acceptable level against the requirements defined in the T26 Ship Building Contract (Contract Ref. No. SHIPACQ036)), thereby causing an unacceptable capability gap to the Royal Navy.
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
706217450-A
Title
Production and Installation of Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 Baseline Equipment (which consist of bespoke integrated satellite communications equipment) for the Royal Navy’s Type 26 Ships 2 & 3
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
7 July 2023
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
STS Defence Limited
Mumby Road Gosport
Hampshire
PO12 1AF
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: £4,000,000
five.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/lot/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
The Defence Digital Tactical Systems Service Executive (TacSys SE) team, part of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MoD) intends to award a four-year contract to STS Defence Limited for the procurement and installation of Integrated UHF SATCOM & EFMTE 4.2 baseline equipment (which consist of bespoke integrated satellite communications equipment) for the Royal Navy’s T26 fleet Ships 2 & 3.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Ministry of Defence - Defence Digital Commercial
Ministry of Defence - Defence Digital Commercial, Ash 0a, MoD Abbey Wood
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Samantha.Temblett100@mod.gov.uk
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures
Ministry of Defence – Central Legal Services
Ministry of Defence – Central Legal Services, Poplar 2, MoD Abbey Wood
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures
Request details from Contact within Section I if required
six.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
Ministry of Defence - Defence Digital Commercial
Bristol
Samantha.Temblett100@mod.gov.uk
Country
United Kingdom