Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2020-03-11
Buyer: Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation
Country: DK
Contract type: Supplies
Procedure: Negotiated procedure
CPV classification: 35000000: Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment | 35710000: Command and control systems | 35720000: Intelligence and surveillance systems | 50334400
Estimated value:  DKK
Submission deadline: 2020-04-07
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: The framework agreement will have a duration of 7 (seven) years with the possibility of renewal 4 (four) times: 1 (one) for 7 (seven) years and 3 (three) for each 2 (two) years (7 + 7 + 2 + 2 + 2). The duration of 20 (twenty) years is justified in particular on the following grounds:
(a) the VCS has an expected lifetime of 20 (twenty) years and DALO needs to have the VCS maintained for all 20 (twenty) years to ensure the VCS is operational. If the VCS is not kept operational it may have negative effects on the execution of the operational tasks of the armed forces and may have an impact on security, which is not acceptable;
(b) DALO‘s knowledge of the market shows that it is not possible to have another/third party economic operator maintaining the VCS without disproportionate technical difficulties because maintenance of the VCS requires detailed technical insight of the VCS. Detailed technical insight is anticipated to be a major challenge and will be difficult to master. Furthermore, DALO has extensive requirements for the VCS duration of continuous operation and a change of supplier may impact negatively on the fulfilment of these requirements, which is unacceptable to DALO.
This contract notice concerns DALO's award of an acquisition contract, with a sustainment framework agreement, for the procurement of a VCS, including sustainment, i.e. development, implementation, maintenance and support during its life time (20 years).
In order to facilitate both the acquisition and the sustainment, the acquisition contract includes two main contractual agreements: an acquisition contract and a sustainment framework agreement (together the ‘Contract’). These two agreements are mutually explanatory and shall be seen together as a whole that regulates the contractual relations between the winning supplier and DALO.
The VCS shall facilitate voice communication for ground operational centers and other ground based operational entities as well as communication with airplanes and ships. The VCS will be used intensively and on a continual basis (24/7/365) by the Danish Defence, including and foremost the Royal Danish Navy in relation to maritime surface surveillance and the Royal Danish Air Force for air surveillance, air battle management and command and control.
Consequently, it is of utmost importance that the VCS and its functionalities operate with a high level of availability. Furthermore, in order for the VCS to efficiently and effectively contribute to the missions and operations within the span of tasks under the Danish Defence, the VCS must have the following functionalities and characteristics:
The VCS shall be scalable in terms of the number of centers, users, number of radios, types of radios and services. The VCS is to be installed in Denmark on approx. 30 remote radio sites and approx. 6 operational centers. Each radio site may have different types of radios allocated including HF, VHF, UHF and TETRA radios. Furthermore, the VCS shall integrate a voice recording system and a Cisco call manager based IP-telephone system operated by the Danish Defence (GFE).
The VCS’ primary function is to interconnect radios, telephone systems, intercom and public announcement systems. Besides the VCS’ primary function, the VCS shall be able to separate voice communication with different security classification levels, including NATO Secret, into separate domains.
The VCS shall be based on distributed system architecture eliminating single points of failures. The VCS shall have a dedicated management system. VCS system components shall be capable of being used in all locations with IP infrastructure, including over satellite links with high latency. The VCS shall be based on end-to-end IP technology preferable without encapsulation of legacy transport mechanisms.
The VCS will be using DALO’s own government furnished equipment (GFE), including IP-WAN, cryptographic devices and shall be designed to integrate a wide range of different types of radios. Tempest modified equipment is also required at selected locations of the VCS.
As part of the acquisition contract, the supplier shall deliver system documentation and technical maintenance documentation for the VCS. Furthermore, the supplier shall deliver initial training and education for all kinds of users, including operators, system administrators and super-users.
During the expected lifetime of the VCS, the supplier shall deliver development services and maintenance, including the possibility to acquire spare-parts and hotline support. As part of these deliverables, the supplier shall ensure that the system documentation and the technical maintenance documentation are kept updated continuously. On request, DALO shall be able to acquire training and education for all kinds of users, including operators, system administrators and super-users, as well as tailor made courses.
The duration of the framework agreement may be extended with up to 4 (four) times — 1 (one) for 7 (seven) years and 3 (three) for each 2 (two) years (maximum of 20 (twenty) years in total), cf. section II.2.3) below.
DALO shall have the option to acquire 2 (two) extra VCS for the duration of the Contract (maximum of 20 (twenty) years) for the Danish Navy/Vessel Traffic Service Great Belt.

Eligibility requirements: Annual reports or excerpts thereof or other documentation stating the candidate’s annual turnover for the last 3 (three) financial years, if publication of annual reports is required under the law of the country in which the candidate is established and to the extent such information is available.
The candidate shall have had an annual turnover of at least DKK 200 000 000 in each of the last 3 (three) financial years. If the turnover is not stated in said currency, DALO will calculate the turnover based on the official exchange rate on the date this notice was published. If the candidate is composed of a group of entities (e.g. a consortium), including temporary joint ventures, the annual turnover is calculated as the sum of all the participants’ annual turnover in each of the last 3 (three) financial years available. If the candidate relies on the economic and financial standing of an entity or entities, the annual turnover will be calculated as the sum of the candidate’s annual turnover and the entity or entities’ annual turnover in each of the last 3 (three) financial years available.
1) Demonstration of experience: The candidates shall submit a list of the most important similar deliveries (references). The list must contain a maximum of 5 (five) previous deliveries, regardless of whether the candidate is 1 (one) entity, composed of a group of entities (e.g. a consortium), including temporary joint ventures or relies on the technical and professional capacity of other entities. If the list contains more than 5 (five) deliveries (references), DALO will only consider the first 5 (five) deliveries (references) on the list. Deliveries (references) beyond that will be disregarded. Only the deliveries (references) that have been completed, i.e. where all deliverables (excluding any support deliveries) have been completed to the customer in question, at the time of the deadline for the request to participate will be considered when assessing if the minimum requirement for suitability stated below is fulfilled and which candidate has documented the most relevant previous deliveries, cf. section IV.1.2). If the delivery in question is ongoing (e.g. is being delivered under a framework agreement), only the part of the deliverables that has been completed at the time of the deadline for the request to participate will be considered when assessing if the minimum requirement for suitability stated below is fulfilled and which candidate has documented the most relevant previous deliveries, cf. section IV.1.2). In the context of the above mentioned, a delivery is completed when the delivery as a minimum has passed the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) (or equivalent) not later than at the time of the deadline for request to participate and is subject to Site Acceptance Test (SAT) (or equivalent) no later than 6 (six) months after the said deadline. As a consequence of the above-mentioned, it is important that the candidate clearly states the relevant dates of the deliveries and, with regard to an ongoing delivery, which part of the delivery that has been completed. The list of the most important similar deliveries is expected to include the following information regarding each delivery. — The name of the delivery, including information regarding volume and value. — The date of the deliveries (when specifying the date for the deliveries, the candidate should state the date for the commencement and completion of the deliveries, including date(s) for completed Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) (or equivalent) and Site Acceptance Test (SAT) (or equivalent) (alternatively expected date(s) for the conclusion of the Site Acceptance Test (or equivalent) (if not yet conducted)). If this is not possible, e.g. because the delivery in question is performed on an ongoing basis under a framework agreement, the description of the deliveries should nonetheless contain information on how the date is set. Reference is made to the above-mentioned with regard to the extent to which a delivery (reference) will be considered by DALO. — The recipient of the delivery (specific names/countries are preferred, alternatively as much generic information regarding the recipient as possible, including information regarding the recipient being a NATO country or ‘NOS country’). In this connection a ‘NOS country’ means a non-NATO nation or International Organisation with whom NATO has signed a Security Agreement and that the NATO Office of Security (NOS) has certified as being able to appropriately protect released NATO classified information. — A description of the context in which the delivery was provided, stating whether the delivery was used for Air Traffic Control (ATC), Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), maritime surface surveillance, air surveillance, air battle management or command, control and communication. — A high level description of the delivery in terms of number of centers, connected radios and radio types, users, domains and classification as well as all other relevant features the supplier finds relevant for DALO to identify similarity to the Contract as described in section II.1.5). — Specific information (‘yes’ or ‘no’) about whether the delivery has been approved to the security classification NATO Secret or equivalent. — Information about whether the delivery was approved by the National Tempest Authority (NTA) and approved in accordance with NATO STANAG SDIP 27 or equivalent, as well as information about the Tempest level achieved. — General information appertaining to operations performed on a continual basis (24/7/365) in terms of the tenderer’s normally applied availability measures and other relevant measures for ensuring a high level of availability and functionality. — Concerning sustainment: information about the inclusion and application of a sustainment framework agreement and the scope in terms of development, maintenance and/or support. Please note that any ambiguities and/or unclearness in the information submitted may be regarded negatively in DALO’s assessment of the delivery (reference). A candidate may rely on the technical and professional capacity of other entities (e.g. a parent or sister company or a sub-supplier), irrespective of the legal nature of the relations between the candidate and the entity or entities on which the candidate relies. 2) Security clearance: The tenderer shall submit a National Security Authority/Designated Security Authority (NSA/DSA) Certificate of Security or NATO Certificate of Security as evidence of the tenderer’s security clearance. 1) Demonstration of experience: The candidate shall demonstrate experience with at least 1 (one) completed delivery of a VCS approved to NATO Secret that is able to separate voice communication in 2 (two) or more domains (including NATO Secret). 2) Security clearance: The candidate shall hold a security clearance at a minimum equivalent to the level of NATO Restricted (equivalent to the Danish marking ‘TIL TJENESTEBRUG’) at the time of the deadline for the request to participate. DALO will accept a security clearance issued by the National Security Authority/Designated Security Authority (NSA/DSA) in the country in which the tenderer is located. However, DALO reserves the right to ask the DDIS (Danish Defence Intelligence Service) to verify whether or not the security clearance stated by the tenderer is equivalent to the level of NATO Restricted. If the candidate is composed of a group of entities (e.g. a consortium), including temporary joint ventures, each participant must hold the required security clearance.
1) Demonstration of experience: The candidates shall submit a list of the most important similar deliveries (references). The list must contain a maximum of 5 (five) previous deliveries, regardless of whether the candidate is 1 (one) entity, composed of a group of entities (e.g. a consortium), including temporary joint ventures or relies on the technical and professional capacity of other entities. If the list contains more than 5 (five) deliveries (references), DALO will only consider the first 5 (five) deliveries (references) on the list. Deliveries (references) beyond that will be disregarded. Only the deliveries (references) that have been completed, i.e. where all deliverables (excluding any support deliveries) have been completed to the customer in question, at the time of the deadline for the request to participate will be considered when assessing if the minimum requirement for suitability stated below is fulfilled and which candidate has documented the most relevant previous deliveries, cf. section IV.1.2). If the delivery in question is ongoing (e.g. is being delivered under a framework agreement), only the part of the deliverables that has been completed at the time of the deadline for the request to participate will be considered when assessing if the minimum requirement for suitability stated below is fulfilled and which candidate has documented the most relevant previous deliveries, cf. section IV.1.2). In the context of the above mentioned, a delivery is completed when the delivery as a minimum has passed the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) (or equivalent) not later than at the time of the deadline for request to participate and is subject to Site Acceptance Test (SAT) (or equivalent) no later than 6 (six) months after the said deadline. As a consequence of the above-mentioned, it is important that the candidate clearly states the relevant dates of the deliveries and, with regard to an ongoing delivery, which part of the delivery that has been completed. The list of the most important similar deliveries is expected to include the following information regarding each delivery. — The name of the delivery, including information regarding volume and value. — The date of the deliveries (when specifying the date for the deliveries, the candidate should state the date for the commencement and completion of the deliveries, including date(s) for completed Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) (or equivalent) and Site Acceptance Test (SAT) (or equivalent) (alternatively expected date(s) for the conclusion of the Site Acceptance Test (or equivalent) (if not yet conducted)). If this is not possible, e.g. because the delivery in question is performed on an ongoing basis under a framework agreement, the description of the deliveries should nonetheless contain information on how the date is set. Reference is made to the above-mentioned with regard to the extent to which a delivery (reference) will be considered by DALO. — The recipient of the delivery (specific names/countries are preferred, alternatively as much generic information regarding the recipient as possible, including information regarding the recipient being a NATO country or ‘NOS country’). In this connection a ‘NOS country’ means a non-NATO nation or International Organisation with whom NATO has signed a Security Agreement and that the NATO Office of Security (NOS) has certified as being able to appropriately protect released NATO classified information. — A description of the context in which the delivery was provided, stating whether the delivery was used for Air Traffic Control (ATC), Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), maritime surface surveillance, air surveillance, air battle management or command, control and communication. — A high level description of the delivery in terms of number of centers, connected radios and radio types, users, domains and classification as well as all other relevant features the supplier finds relevant for DALO to identify similarity to the Contract as described in section II.1.5). — Specific information (‘yes’ or ‘no’) about whether the delivery has been approved to the security classification NATO Secret or equivalent. — Information about whether the delivery was approved by the National Tempest Authority (NTA) and approved in accordance with NATO STANAG SDIP 27 or equivalent, as well as information about the Tempest level achieved. — General information appertaining to operations performed on a continual basis (24/7/365) in terms of the tenderer’s normally applied availability measures and other relevant measures for ensuring a high level of availability and functionality. — Concerning sustainment: information about the inclusion and application of a sustainment framework agreement and the scope in terms of development, maintenance and/or support. Please note that any ambiguities and/or unclearness in the information submitted may be regarded negatively in DALO’s assessment of the delivery (reference). A candidate may rely on the technical and professional capacity of other entities (e.g. a parent or sister company or a sub-supplier), irrespective of the legal nature of the relations between the candidate and the entity or entities on which the candidate relies. 2) Security clearance: The tenderer shall submit a National Security Authority/Designated Security Authority (NSA/DSA) Certificate of Security or NATO Certificate of Security as evidence of the tenderer’s security clearance.
1) Demonstration of experience: The candidate shall demonstrate experience with at least 1 (one) completed delivery of a VCS approved to NATO Secret that is able to separate voice communication in 2 (two) or more domains (including NATO Secret). 2) Security clearance: The candidate shall hold a security clearance at a minimum equivalent to the level of NATO Restricted (equivalent to the Danish marking ‘TIL TJENESTEBRUG’) at the time of the deadline for the request to participate. DALO will accept a security clearance issued by the National Security Authority/Designated Security Authority (NSA/DSA) in the country in which the tenderer is located. However, DALO reserves the right to ask the DDIS (Danish Defence Intelligence Service) to verify whether or not the security clearance stated by the tenderer is equivalent to the level of NATO Restricted. If the candidate is composed of a group of entities (e.g. a consortium), including temporary joint ventures, each participant must hold the required security clearance.