Public procurement notice: Contract Award Notice
Published: 2016-04-28
Buyer: Ministry of Defence, Land Equipment
Country: UK
Region: Telford and Wrekin
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 35322500
Estimated value: 9323614 GBP

Technical requirements: Howitzer. The Armoured Vehicle Programmes In-Service Platforms (AVP-ISP) team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence (‘MOD’), has placed an amendment to an existing contract (Ref. No AVPISP/00003) with BAE Global Combat Systems Limited (‘BAES GCS’) to include Design Services support for the Artillery Systems for the Nineties (AS90) 155 mm Field Howitzer, in line with the existing Contract Terms and Conditions.
This Contract has been placed using the negotiated procedure without prior publication as permitted by Article 28(1)(e) of Directive 2009/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011) for technical reasons because only BAES GCS have the equipment, specific technological expertise, tools and specialist test equipment to carry out Design Services. As the Design Authority (‘DA’), BAES GCS have ownership of essential original drawings, associated technical data and underlying knowledge required for Design Services. BAES GCS are the only company that has a sufficiently detailed understanding of the designs of the variants of the AS90 Howitzer platform. This design knowledge means that BAES GCS are the only party able to understand the implications on the operability of the variants resulting from any proposed design changes and enables BAES GCS to design modifications to each vehicle accordingly. As the contracted DA, any modifications developed by a third party would, in any event, have to be underwritten by BAES GCS resulting in disproportionate technical and safety difficulties for the MOD.
Suppliers interested in working with the Ministry of Defence should register on the MOD Supplier Information Database (SID) Register, available at www.contracts.mod.uk The MOD SID is a database of active and potential suppliers available to all MOD and UK Defence procurement personnel, and is the main supplier database of MOD Procurement organisations. Please note: the registration and publication of a company profile on the MOD SID does not mean or imply that the supplier has in any way been vetted or approved by the MOD. Suppliers wishing to compete for advertised MOD contracts must respond to any specific call for competition by submitting a separate expression of interest in accordance with the instructions of the purchasing organisation.
From 2.4.2014 the Government is introducing its new Government Security Classifications Policy (GSC) to replace the current Government Protective Marking Scheme. A key aspect of this is the reduction in the number of security classifications used. All suppliers to the Department are encouraged to make themselves aware of the changes as it may impact on this Requirement. The link below to the Gov.uk website provides information on the new GSC.
The Authority reserves the right to amend any condition related to security of information to reflect any changes in national law or government policy. If any contract documents are accompanied by instructions on safeguarding classified information (e.g. a Security Aspects Letter), the Authority reserves the right to amend the terms of these instructions to reflect any changes in national law or government policy, whether in respect of the applicable protective marking scheme, specific protective markings given, the aspects to which any protective marking applies, or otherwise.
Advertising Regime OJEU: This contract opportunity is published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), the MoD Defence Contracts Bulletin and www.contracts.mod.uk GO Reference: GO-2016426-DCB-8119431.