Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name, addresses and contact point(s)
Ministry of Defence
#1261 Spruce 2B, DE&S Abbey Wood, Filton
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Contact
Toby Love
For the attention of
Love Toby
Email(s)
Country
United Kingdom
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)
Section two: Object of the contract
two.1) Description
two.1.1) Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority
Uncrewed Surface / Subsurface Vehicle (USSV)
two.1.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance
Services
Service category No 3: Defence services, military defence services and civil defence services
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
Duration of the framework agreement
Duration in months: 30
Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement
Estimated value excluding VAT:
£4,445,000
two.1.5) Short description of the contract or purchase(s)
The Authority has a developing requirement to demonstrate a full-scale prototype of an autonomous vessel capability that is able to transit on the surface at speed, quickly transitioning sub-surface for covert delivery of capabilities. Integration into an open architecture network (NSN) will be critical for these vessels to operate autonomously and deploy modular mission payloads.
The littoral strike battlespace commander requires surveillance, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and strike effectors, which can be covertly deployed to multiple simultaneous maritime locations and persist to enhance commando operations. The capability must have a useful service life, operate from the broadest range of platforms, worldwide, by day and night, survive likely threats and be deliverable.
Due to the rapid timescales the authority is driving, we would expect that companies we will be working with will have already successfully designed, manufactured and operated an autonomous vessel (as described above) capable of surface and sub-surface operation up to at least fully-operational demonstrator stage. If companies have not achieved this to date, we would expect companies to achieve a minimum entry criteria, potentially backed up by authority SQEP panel via on-site visits to confirm that you have capabilities, resources, plans and measures in place to meet this requirement within the given timescales. Please provide supporting evidence to the above within the white paper.
It is expected that the work will involve experimentation and demonstrations of an uncrewed Surface and subsurface vessel.
The contractual mechanism is intended to be a multi-supplier framework. Potential bidders are invited to register their interest in receiving an Invitation to Tender to join the framework by first completing the associated Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) and White Paper template.
The Authority intends to invite all eligible companies who pass the PQQ to tender for the Framework. Companies who successfully pass the PQQ will be considered eligible to receive an Invitation to Tender at the next stage of the programme. c.£4.45M inc VAT is available to be split amongst multiple companies under a competitive process and assessed for best Value For Money (VFM), awarding to 1 or more companies to accelerate towards Min Viable Product (MVP) within the Design/Re-design, Manufacture and Demo phases between Dec 22 and Mar 25.
The process as currently defined post PQQ will be to issue an ITT against a minimum requirement, select bidders, accelerate the proposed systems through funding, with the intent of having a full scale demonstration within the framework duration.
As with any framework, there can be no guarantee of any particular quantity of work being put through it.
The Authority expects that suppliers will be capable of taking on the breadth and scope of each piece of work and therefore collaboration will be required between suppliers in a competitive environment (collaborative team bids are encouraged).
two.1.6) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)
- 73410000 - Military research and technology
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.
Section four: Procedure
four.1) Type of procedure
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Restricted
four.3) Administrative information
four.3.4) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
4 October 2022 - 5:00pm
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.