Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name, addresses and contact point(s)
Ministry of Defence
Vehicle Support Team, DE&S Abbey Wood, Cedar 1a #3157
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Contact
Dale Gurney-Newland
For the attention of
gurney-newland dale
Email(s)
dale.gurney-Newland100@mod.gov.uk
Country
United Kingdom
Section two: Object of the contract
two.1) Description
two.1.1) Title attributed to the contract
Lipless Firing Needle Assemblies
two.1.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance
Supplies
Purchase
two.1.4) Short description of the contract or purchase(s)
The manufacture and supply of quantity 400 modified Firing Needle Assemblies (FNA) for the L30A1 (120mm) gun of the Challenger 2 (CR2) main battle tank.
two.1.5) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)
- 35411100 - Main battle tanks
two.2) Total final value of contract(s)
two.2.1) Total final value of contract(s)
Value: £578,898
Excluding VAT
Section four: Procedure
Type of procedure
Negotiated without publication of a contract notice
Justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice
1) Justification for the choice of the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice
The works/goods/services can be provided only by a particular tenderer for reasons that are:
technical
It is considered that this Contract can be placed under Regulation 16 (1) (a) (ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations on a Single Source basis with RBSL for Technical Reasons. The FNA is a safety critical internal component of the 120mm L30A1 CR2 gun and requires modification to the current design to prevent obturation failure. This modification is a safety requirement that must be fulfilled to ensure the safe functioning of the L30A1 CR2 Main Armament during operation.
RBSL are the Design Authority (DA) and the Original Equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the CR2 and have been the sole supplier of FNAs throughout the life of the L30A1 gun. They have been involved in the development of the L30A1 Weapon System from its inception and possess technical information relating to the Weapon TVE Monitoring system, of which the FNA forms part of. In addition to the Firing Needle Assembly (FNA), the Weapons TVE Monitoring system consists of two interfacing units which interact with the Weapon:
• Tube Vent Electrical Display Unit (TVEDU)
• Tube Vent Electrical Contactor unit (TVECU)
These two units are both procured and/or repaired through RBSL, and the Authority does not have access to the full technical information relating to their design specification. This information is required to ensure that the FNA is built to the correct standard as required to interact with the Weapon TVE Monitoring system and RBSL is the only supplier with this necessary technical information. Without the necessary technical information, there is the risk of misfires, causing a safety issue that would put the crew at risk during Operations.
The Authority has adopted a 10 day standstill period by publishing a Voluntary Transparency Notice with the period ending at 17:00 on Thursday 3rd August 2023. No challenges were received during the standstill period.
Section five: Award of contract
Contract No
704942450
five.1) Date of contract award decision
22 September 2023
five.2) Information about offers
Number of offers received
1
Number of offers received by electronic means
1
five.3) Name and address of economic operator in favour of whom the contract award decision has been taken
Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) Limited
Hadley Castle Works, PO Box 106
Telford
TF1 6QW
Country
United Kingdom
five.4) Information on value of contract
Total final value of the contract
Value: £578,898
Excluding VAT
five.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract is likely to be sub-contracted: Yes
Value or proportion of the contract likely to be sub-contracted to third parties:
Proportion: 75%
Short description of the value/proportion of the contract to be sub-contracted:
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.
Section six: Complementary information
six.1) Information about European Union funds
The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
six.3) Procedures for appeal
six.3.1) Body responsible for appeal procedures
Beth Monis
Vehicle Support Team, DE&S Abbey Wood, Cedar 1a
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Email(s)
Country
United Kingdom