Ministry of Defence, Ships, Mine and Hydrographic Capability

Abbey Wood

Bristol

BS34 8JH

UK

Contact person: Mr Garry Ogborne

Telephone: +44 3001637819

E-mail: Garry.Ogborne100@mod.gov.uk

NUTS: UKK11

Internet address(es)

Main address: https://des.mod.uk/

II.1.1) Title

Reference number: 701162380

II.1.2) Main CPV code

35512400

II.1.3) Type of contract

Supplies

II.1.4) Short description

Procurement of TSC2002 IFF Systems and associated equipment, to be issued as GFX to the MMCM Programme.

II.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

II.1.7) Total value of the procurement

Value excluding VAT: 385 000.00  GBP

IV.1.1) Type of procedure

Negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice

Justification for selected award procedure:

The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason: absence of competition for technical reasons

Explanation:

The Mine Hunting Capability Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a contract to Thales Ltd (‘Thales UK’) for 3 x TSC2002 IIF Systems. The contract shall be for a period of 14 months with an anticipated value of GBP 385 000.

Reason for award:

It is considered that this contract can be awarded to Thales UK using the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice pursuant to Article 28(1)(e) of Directive 2009/81/EC (Regulation 16 (1) (a) (ii) of the UK Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (DSPCR)), for technical reasons.

The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Thales UK and its parent company TDMS France retain the proprietary rights to design and manufacture the TSC2002 Identification of Friend or Foe (IFF) system. This specific model of IFF is required to be issued by the authority to TDMS France as GFE, as an element of the current phase of the joint UK/French MMCM Contract. The integration of the TSC2002 is critical to ensure that the UK system has commonality, compatibility and interoperability with the French system, which is to include an identical type of IFF.

There is a strict technical impracticality for any other economic operator to undertake the work required within this proposed contract as the specific model of IFF system is proprietary to Thales UK and its parent company TDMS France. This specific model of IFF system is necessary for interoperability, compatibility and commonality purposes, in order to ensure successful testing and integration into the UK/French MMCM systems. Both the UK and French MMCM systems have been designed to use identical IFF models, in order to ensure their ability to communicate effectively and function interoperably, and so that the interface between the 2 systems can be maximised. The requirement for interoperability is contingent on Thales’ specific expertise of their system, and on this basis the use of an alternative supplier or equipment is not viable as they would not allow the same level of compatibility. Failure to provide the TSC2002 model of IFF would impact upon the upcoming production phase of the MMCM systems, which have been designed around the integration and use of this specific IFF system. The integration and use of alternative models of IFF systems would not be possible without significant redesign of the overall system, along with a change to the common Training DLOD and Support DLOD.

IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

Thales UK Ltd

Thales UK, Manor Royal

Crawley

RH10 9HA

UK

Telephone: +44 1293581000

E-mail: crawley.reception@uk.thalesgroup.com

NUTS: UKJ28

Internet address(es)

URL: https://www.thalesgroup.com

The contractor is an SME: No

VI.4.1) Review body

VI.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures

VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained