Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2016-07-06
Buyer: Defence equipment and Support
Country: UK
Region: Portsmouth
Contract type: Supplies
Procedure: Negotiated without a prior call for competition
CPV classification: 38112100
Estimated value: 25000000 GBP
Award criteria: Other

Technical requirements: In-Service Support of Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier Integrated Navigation Bridge System and Legacy Navigation Equipment.
1. The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (the ‘Authority’) intends to place a contract with Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine (NGSM) B.V. (company number: FC020139) (the ‘Company’) for In-Service Support including maintenance, repair, obsolescence and spares management of the Integrated Navigation and Bridge System (‘INBS’) equipment fitted to the new to service Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) platforms. In addition, we intend to include In-Service Support to some Legacy Equipments already supported by the Company.
2. The planned term of the contract is 3 years (with an option for the Authority to extend the contract for an additional 2 years) with a value of approximately 25 000 000 GBP.
3. The contract will cover spares, repairs, post design services, modifications, obsolescence management and resolution for the following equipments:
4. It is considered that this contract can be placed using the Negotiated Procedure Without Prior Publication pursuant to Article 28(1)(e) of Directive 2009/81/EC  of the European Parliament and the Council (Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011) for technical reasons.
a. In respect of the Navigation System, it is technically impracticable for a candidate other than the Company to maintain and repair the equipment as specific know how, extensive technical knowledge and maintenance history of the products and the characteristics of the system(s) being maintained, is required.
b. The Company is the Original Equipment Manufacturer of some of the equipments and owns the IP due to PV funding by NGSM (Hardware and Software). This includes the software that creates the single system and is integrated into all of the other equipments.
c. The INBS on board the QEC platforms is a fully integrated, Safety-Critical Mission systems that sends and receives data from various interfaces around the ships including the Combat Management System. This requires the integrity of the sub-system to perform at both component and at integrated sub-system level. A retrofit of hardware would almost certainly result in a modification to software that could present an unacceptable safety risk preventing the QEC from fulfilling its operational tasking and complying with Legislative Requirements.
5. This VEAT Notice is not a request for Expression of Interest (EoI). This notice advises that the Authority has decided to negotiate a contract with the named supplier on a single source basis, and is published for reasons of transparency. If you are interested in becoming a sub-contractor for this requirement, you should apply directly to the supplier named above.
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


Award value: 25000000