Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Directive 2009/81/EC
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Ministry of Defence
Bristol
BS34 8JH
UK
E-mail: Emily.Evans748@mod.gov.uk
NUTS: UK
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://des.mod.uk/
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions
I.5) Main activity
Defence
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
7.62mm L94A1 Hughes Chain Gun
II.1.2) Main CPV code
50620000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Post Design Services Technical Support for the 7.62mm L94A1 Hughes Chain Gun
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
4 900 000.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UK
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Post Design Services Technical Support for the 7.62mm L94A1 Hughes Chain Gun
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice
Justification for selected award procedure:
The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development under the condition stated in the Directive (for supplies only)
Explanation:
The Turret Weapons Systems (TWS) team within the DE&S Ajax Portfolio Project Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), intends to award a Contract for 5 years to Heckler & Koch NSAF Ltd to cover Post Design Services Technical Support for the 7.62mm L94A1 Hughes Chain Gun currently fitted to various Armoured Vehicle platforms. This Contract will replace the existing Chain Gun PDS Contract No. SSP/00210 with Heckler & Koch NSAF Ltd which is due to expire on 06-May-23.
In accordance with regulation 4 of The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/697) this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 as amended (in particular by SI 2019/697 and SI 2020/1450). Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate. It is considered that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (as required by the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the UK Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011), due to absence of competition for technical reasons.
This is because only Heckler & Koch NSAF Ltd as the current longstanding support contractor has the extensive in-depth knowledge and specific know-how, proprietary information (such as up to date drawings), gun specific tooling and safety approvals to carry out the required services. NSAF have stated they will not provide any drawing or technical detail to anyone else and therefore another contractor would be required to demonstrate access to safety critical technical information not presently available to MoD, and also be able to provide technical support based on data that cannot be corroborated by any authority and present an intolerable risk that would undermine the Safety ALARP claim for the weapon. Because of this, it is considered that no other contractor can provide these services.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
Section V: Award of contract/concession
Contract No: 705067450
Title: 7.62mm L94A1 Hughes Chain Gun
V.2 Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession
14/12/2022
V.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
NSAF Ltd
Nottingham
UK
NUTS: UKF1
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the concession and main financing terms (excluding VAT)
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Ministry of Defence
Stoke Gifford
Bristol
BS34 8JH
UK
E-mail: emily.evans748@mod.gov.uk
Internet address(es)
URL: https://des.mod.uk/
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
28/02/2023