Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Ministry of Defence
Bristol
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKK1 - Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area
Internet address(es)
Main address
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
CHC/628 (700217320) Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) Support Contract
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 71356300 - Technical support services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The Authority has placed a contract with Thales UK Ltd with a duration of 4 years for the ongoing support of the extant GMSS hardware and software, including laptops and servers. Thales UK Ltd will further provide under the terms of the contract technical support and support management services in relation to the GMSS.
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: £8,430,521
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 34711500 - Helicopters
- 35612400 - Military transport helicopters
- 71356300 - Technical support services
- 72250000 - System and support services
- 72253000 - Helpdesk and support services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKK1 - Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
In-service support services for the hardware and software for the Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) on the Chinook aircraft.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: Yes
Description of options
The Contract includes Options for recommendations to resolve an obsolescence issue and training courses to front line users.
The Contract includes a Post Design Service tasking mechanism.
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 services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
- protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights
Explanation:
As per previous Voluntary Transparency Notice (prior to contract award), the justification for the non-competitive decision was as follows:
"It is considered that this contract can be placed using the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice pursuant to Article 28(1)(e) of Directive 2009/81/EC and Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contract Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/No.1848) on the basis that for reasons connected with the protection of exclusive rights the contract may be awarded only to Thales UK Ltd. Thales UK Ltd is the original equipment manufacturer and design authority of the GMSS and alone holds all relevant technical rights (including rights in the system's source code), data and information (including in relation to the Chinook Mission Avionics System, with which the GMSS must be interoperable) required for the performance of services under the contract. There is no available and lawful equivalent right that another economic operator could offer, which could support the contract services: Thales UK Ltd has not licensed its rights’ exploitation to any other economic operator nor does the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence have a licence to use such exclusive rights which would enable it to procure the subject matter of the contract from another supplier. Accordingly, a third party would be unable to carry out the essential support activities required (such as software upgrades and modifications) under the contract."
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
Contract No
CHC/628 700217320 Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) Support Contract
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
9 December 2021
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Thales UK Limited
Crawley
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKJ27 - West Sussex (South West)
The contractor is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot: £8,430,521
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Ministry of Defence
Bristol
Country
United Kingdom