Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name, addresses and contact point(s)
Ministry of Defence
MHP Delivery Team, Spruce 0c, Abbey Wood
Bristol
BS34 8JH
Contact
MHP DT-Comrcl-Mgr 2
For the attention of
Andy Davies
Email(s)
Country
United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Electronic access to information
https://www.contracts.mod.uk/go/36698449018C19E26F2F
Electronic submission of tenders and requests to participate
https://www.contracts.mod.uk/go/36698449018C19E26F2F
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
Fleet Helicopter Support Unit (FHSU)
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
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance
South Coast Exercise Areas (SCEXAs) and wider UK Flight Information Region (FIR)
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
two.1.5) Short description of the contract or purchase(s)
Background:
The Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Multi Helicopter Platforms (MHP) Project Delivery Team has a requirement for a contracted crewed capability that can provide a medium-lift Support Helicopter (SH) capability to meet Fleet Operational Standards and Training (FOST) and Navy Command (NC) requirements. The project has a security classification of Official Sensitive.
Requirement:
The requirement is to provide a contractor owned rotary wing Air System (AS) service for the Royal Navy (RN), providing point-to-point flights delivering military and non-military personnel to enable the conduct of operational sea training and supporting tasks, including transportation of freight. The service will be operated on a Military Registered Civil Operated Aircraft (MRCOA) contract basis.
Please Note: The Authority requires the successful bidder to be ready to deliver an initial service to specified ships from 1 April 2026.
two.1.6) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)
- 60424120 - Hire of helicopters with crew
Additional CPV code(s)
- 35612300 - Support helicopters
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
The successful tenderer is obliged to specify which part or parts of the contract it intends to subcontract beyond the required percentage and to indicate the subcontractors already identified
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 purpose of this Contract Notice is to invite potential and interested suppliers to formally express interest in participating in this procurement by completing a Dynamic Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (DPQQ) found on the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) linked to this Notice.
Background:
The Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Multi Helicopter Platforms (MHP) Project Delivery Team has a requirement for a contracted crewed capability that can provide a medium-lift Support Helicopter (SH) capability to meet Fleet Operational Standards and Training (FOST) and Navy Command (NC) requirements. The project has a security classification of Official Sensitive.
Requirement:
The requirement is to provide a contractor owned rotary wing Air System (AS) service for the Royal Navy (RN), providing point-to-point flights delivering military and non-military personnel to enable the conduct of operational sea training and supporting tasks, including transportation of freight. The service will be operated on a Military Registered Civil Operated Aircraft (MRCOA) contract basis.
Please Note: The Authority requires the successful bidder to be ready to deliver an initial service to specified ships from 1 April 2026.
The Contractor will be required to:
1. Provide crew for the Military Registered AS to fly up to 500 hours per annum based on one assured task line.
2. Deliver tasking by day and night, throughout the year and in adverse weather conditions within the South Coast Exercise Areas (SCEXAs) and wider UK Flight Information Region (FIR).
3. Provide an AS with an endurance of a minimum of 2.5 hours (objective 3.5 hours) and a capability of 200 nautical miles of range with full load & fuel.
4. Provide an AS with a capacity and internal load of minimum 500kg (objective 1000kg), 1m³ (objective 1.5 m³) internal space, or minimum 6 (objective 16) passengers with baggage and/or equipment (100kg each); External Underslung Load minimum 1000kg (objective 1500kg).
5. Provide an AS with the capability to integrate with all civil and NATO Maritime, Land and Air communications and navigation requirements.
6. Provide a service capable of operating from the contractor’s Main Operating Base (MOB) to RN, Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and International Partner Nation (IPN) vessels at sea.
7. Hold a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)/UK CAA Part 145 Aircraft Maintenance Organisation Approval (Rotary Wing) and maintain that for the duration of the service.
8. Hold EASA/UK CAA Part M Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation Approval and maintain that for the duration of the service.
9. Hold EASA/UK CAA Part 21 J Design Organisation Approval (Rotary Wing) and maintain that for the duration of the service.
The relevant Cyber Risk Assessment code is RAR-803565955 and the cyber risk profile has been rated Very Low. Potential tenderers for this contract will be required to complete a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ) at the Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) stage of the competitive process. The Authority intends to include DEFCON 658 “Cyber” and DEFSTAN 05-138 “Cyber Security for Defence Suppliers” in any contract that results from the future tendering process.
In addition to the Cyber Security matters above, any contract that results from the future tendering process shall include the following security requirements:
• DEFSTAN 05-139 - Cyber Security and Resilience of Products, Systems and Services.
• DEFCON 76 - Contractor's Personnel at Government Establishments.
The planned timeframe for issue of the ITN for this requirement is 3-5 months from publication of this advert.
Your response submitted via the DSP should only contain information with the Security Classification Official Sensitive or below. If your response contains information with a Security Classification higher than Official Sensitive, please contact the Authority for appropriate submission instructions.
Air System Type:
The Authority has considered the types of AS that may be able to deliver the proposed service based on the user requirements and the following priority considerations:
1) The AS must have been the subject of a prior Military Registration to reduce the Authority’s risk and complexity in the registration process.
2) The AS must present a low risk and complexity solution to achieving a UK Ship Air Release (SA-R) clearance to the required ships.
3) The AS must be a modern commercial aircraft (i.e. not a legacy aircraft), commonly and freely available in the market, to give confidence that the service can be sustained for up to ten years. A legacy aircraft that would require a Duty Holder to accept the risk of significant shortfalls against modern safety and crashworthiness requirements will not be acceptable.
The Authority has conducted a Request for Information which closed in June 2022. Analysis of the responses (and all other AS that hold, or have previously held, military registration) showed only the AW139:
a. Meets all threshold and objective requirements, and;
b. Is a modern AS likely to be supportable and meet crashworthiness requirements, and;
c. has an available Ship Air Integration (SAI) data set that will support generation of the necessary UK SA-R clearances.
The Authority has an SAI Strategy based on utilising the available AW139 SAI dataset to minimise the risk and complexity of achieving the SA-R clearances required to meet the In Service Date (ISD). The SAI Strategy exploits existing AW139, Merlin and Wildcat SAI data, on the same class of ship, to minimise the cost of SAI and the operational burden of First of Type Flight Trials (FoTFT) to Navy Command and will enable ISD to be achieved prior to FoTFT.
The Authority may consider an alternative AS if it meets the user requirements, the priority considerations detailed above and is able to satisfy the intent of the Authority’s SAI Strategy. Any bidder offering an AS other than an AW139 must be able to demonstrate that there is existing SAI data available and that the MOD would be able to secure access to this data set.
If you are considering bidding an equivalent AS to the AW139 please detail this AS and the supporting SAI evidence separately but alongside your DPQQ response for consideration by the Authority.
Please note that the Authority does not require that a prospective bidder currently has an AW139 capability (or equivalent) but will need to demonstrate a credible plan through the ITN to deliver a comprehensive capability by the In Service Date (ISD) (assumed to be 1 April 2026).
Contract Duration:
The contract has an anticipated duration of five (5) years from ISD (assumed to be 1 April 2026) with an additional 5 x 1-year options. The final confirmed duration including any Contractual Option (s), and/or break points will be confirmed in the ITN documentation.
Process:
Interested companies are required to complete a DPQQ to provide the Authority with information to evaluate the company’s capacities and capabilities against the selection criteria.
The Authority will use the DPQQ response to create a shortlist of tenderers who:
a) are eligible to participate.
b) fulfil any minimum economic, financial, professional, and technical standards; and,
c) best meet in terms of capacity and capability the selection criteria set out below.
The Pre-Qualification Questionnaire Selection Criteria can be found in the attached supporting documents.
The closing date for submission of responses is 17:00 on 12/1/2024. Normally 30 days would be provided, however an additional two weeks is added to allow for the Christmas period. Responses received after this closure date/time will be discounted.
Potential tenderers will be scored in accordance with the criteria listed. A maximum of the six (6) highest scoring potential providers shall be taken through to the ITN stage. A minimum score of 30 (ADEQUATE) shall be required for all scored and weighted questions to allow the Potential Provider to progress to the ITN stage for this requirement. All remaining questions will be PASS/FAIL. An evaluation of a FAIL shall result in an unsuccessful result and the Authority reserves the right to exclude that potential tenderer.
The Authority reserves the right to exclude a potential tenderer if the economic and financial standing qualification standards are not met by that potential tenderer.
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met as per: “Annex A – DPQQ Guidance and Evaluation Plan” and “Annex B-DPQQ Part 1 Form D Economic and Financial Standing Evaluation Criteria”.
Minimum level(s) of standards required: “Annex A – DPQQ Guidance and Evaluation Plan” and “Annex B-DPQQ Part 1 Form D Economic and Financial Standing Evaluation Criteria”.
Intended Tendering Process
The Authority intends to conduct any following tender exercise as an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) under the Competitive Negotiated Procedure of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations (DSPCR). Therefore, any tendering process for the requirement will have an initial tender submission and assessment phase, which will be followed by a negotiation phase (one or more rounds of negotiation) and be completed by best and final offers.
Estimated value excluding VAT:
Range: between £50,000,000 and £70,000,000
two.2.2) Information about options
Options: Yes
Description of these options: Options for up to 5 additional years of contract service.
two.3) Duration of the contract or time limit for completion
Start date: 31 January 2025
End date: 31 March 2031
Section three. Legal, economic, financial and technical information
three.1) Conditions relating to the contract
three.1.1) Deposits and guarantees required
A Parent Company Guarantee or Bank Guarantee may be required by the Authority; see Contract Notice and associated Dynamic Pre-Qualification Questionnaire
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: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met as per: “Annex A – DPQQ Guidance and Evaluation Plan” and “Annex B-DPQQ Part 1 Form D Economic and Financial Standing Evaluation Criteria”.
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: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met as per: “Annex A – DPQQ Guidance and Evaluation Plan” and “Annex B-DPQQ Part 1 Form D Economic and Financial Standing Evaluation Criteria”.
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: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met as per: “Annex A – DPQQ Guidance and Evaluation Plan” and “Annex B-DPQQ Part 1 Form D Economic and Financial Standing Evaluation Criteria”.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: Minimum level(s) of standards required: “Annex A – DPQQ Guidance and Evaluation Plan” and “Annex B-DPQQ Part 1 Form D Economic and Financial Standing Evaluation Criteria”.
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: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met as per: “Annex A – DPQQ Guidance and Evaluation Plan” and “Annex B-DPQQ Part 1 Form D Economic and Financial Standing Evaluation Criteria”.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: Minimum level(s) of standards required: “Annex A – DPQQ Guidance and Evaluation Plan” and “Annex B-DPQQ Part 1 Form D Economic and Financial Standing Evaluation Criteria”.
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: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met as per: “Annex A – DPQQ Guidance and Evaluation Plan” and “Annex B-DPQQ Part 1 Form D Economic and Financial Standing Evaluation Criteria”.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: Minimum level(s) of standards required: “Annex A – DPQQ Guidance and Evaluation Plan” and “Annex B-DPQQ Part 1 Form D Economic and Financial Standing Evaluation Criteria”.
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: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met as per: “Annex A – DPQQ Guidance and Evaluation Plan” and “Annex B-DPQQ Part 1 Form D Economic and Financial Standing Evaluation Criteria”.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: Minimum level(s) of standards required: “Annex A – DPQQ Guidance and Evaluation Plan” and “Annex B-DPQQ Part 1 Form D Economic and Financial Standing Evaluation Criteria”.
Section four: Procedure
four.1) Type of procedure
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated
four.1.2) Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate
Envisaged number of operators: 6
Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates: See: “Annex A – DPQQ Guidance and Evaluation Plan” and “Annex B-DPQQ Part 1 Form D Economic and Financial Standing Evaluation Criteria”.
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: no
four.3) Administrative information
four.3.1) File reference number attributed by the contracting authority
703723450 and SPMAP/0108. Note link to Defence Sourcing Portal Opportunity Notice https://www.contracts.mod.uk/go/36698449018C19E26F2F contains earlier Request for Information documents
four.3.2) Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract
no
four.3.4) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
12 January 2024 - 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.