Defence Online

Type of document: Invitation to tender
Country: United Kingdom
OJEU Ref: (2020/S 184-445488/EN)
Nature of contract: Supply contract
Procedure: Negotiated procedure

Contract notice
Supplies
Directive 2009/81/EC
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name addresses and contact point(s):
Ministry of Defence, Land Equipment, Training and Simulation Systems Programme (TSSP)
MoD Cedar 2B, Mail Point #3260, MoD Abbeywood, Bristol
Filton
Postal code: BS34 8JH
United Kingdom
For the attention of: Bob Wade
Phone: +44 1179132548
Email: Bob.Wade102@mod.gov.uk
Internet Address(es):
General address of the contracting authority: www.contracts.mod.uk
Further information can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: The above mentioned contact point(s)
I.2) Type of the contracting authority:
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions
I.3) Main activity:
Defence
I.4) Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities/entities:
The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: No
Section II: Object of the contract:
II.1) Description:
II.1.1) Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority/entity: Project Vulcan (Ground Manoeuvre Synthetic Trainer)
II.1.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance:
Supplies
Type of supplies contract: Purchase
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: UNITED KINGDOM.
Nuts code:
II.1.3) Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)
II.1.4) Information on framework agreement
II.1.5) Short description of the specific contract:Battle simulators, military electronic systems, data storage services, training and simulation in military electronic systems, training and simulation in military electronic systems, military electronic systems, battle simulators, data storage services. The Army Headquarters Single Statement of User Need (SSUN) which VULCAN Ground Manoeuvre Synthetic Trainer (GMST) will deliver against is: ‘VULCAN seeks to establish a comprehensive simulator system to satisfy individual (driver, gunner, commander) and crew training for MIV, WCSP and CR2 LEP+ and planned, both technically and commercially, to exploit emerging technology and expand to other vehicle fleets over time.’Vulcan will deliver simulated driver, commander and gunner training for WR CSP, CR2 LEP+ and MIV, via a coherent pan-platform simulation systems architecture. It will replace the planned single platform crew training simulation solutions for WCSP, MIV and CR2LEP and extend the driving simulation capability to all three fleets. Model crew stations will enable individual teaching and testing in a classroom, through to integrated crew level training at troop/platoon level (max four vehicles). The equipment design should enable company/squadron level training if additional infrastructure and network connectivity is provided. An open systems architecture and templated hardware profiles to support rapid reconfiguration and future exploitation will enable the core software to be re-used in crew training for other platforms. Simulation will enable realistic and complex training that cannot be conducted live on the UK training estate, thus maintaining operational effectiveness. Its approach will be evolutionary and will exploit the essential features of the in-service Armoured Vehicle Training Aids (AVTA) which have been developed over time to assist instructors in delivering consistent standards of training whether it is centralised at ARMCEN or distributed in the Field Army.It is anticipated that the initial contract duration shall run for 5 years from March 2022 until end of March 2027. Also, that the Authority shall have irrevocable options to extend the contract up to a further two 5 year until end of March 2032 and March 2037 respectively. It is our intent to increase the scope of VULCAN in the future with envisaged integration of simulators for additional vehicles.In issuing this contract notice and engaging with the market, the authority is not committing to carrying out any procurement in relation to the requirements stated in this notice. If third parties are interested in engaging with the authority in relation to the req
II.1.6) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV): 35740000, 35700000, 72317000, 80660000,
II.1.7) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
II.1.8) Lots:
The contract is divided into lots: No
II.1.9) Information about variants:
Variants will be accepted: NO
II.2) Quantity or scope of the contract:
II.2.1) Total quantity or scope:
VULCAN scope of service:
Outcomes.
The outcomes that will be achieved through this project are:
(a) Outcome 1: delivery of training simulators for use in technical training of armoured vehicle crews, providing individual (driver, gunner, commander) and crew training, for MIV, WCSP and CR2 LEP+;
(b) Outcome 2: provide obsolescence management for in-service training systems for WR and CR2;
(c) Outcome 3: generate an adaptable and scalable system architecture to allow for expansion to additional vehicle platforms.
Project benefits.
The benefits that will be realised on successful delivery of project outcomes are:
(a) simulation for driver and vehicle command training will reduce fleet support costs;
(b) an evolutionary approach to gunnery training simulation will resolve obsolescence of the in-service systems;
(c) generation of an adaptable and scalable system architecture will reduce the cost of developing simulation training for other vehicle platforms in the future;
(d) increased capacity for remedial training of driving and command;
(e) a coherent solution could support integration with section or higher level collective training;
(f) an increase in the depth of training on offer through the simulation of a broad range of environments and conditions;
Project boundaries.
The project is responsible for the coherent delivery of the project and workstream outputs, ensuring the Field Army and training establishments are ready to make the required changes and ensuring the necessary business as usual inputs are in place.
(a) The following are in scope:
1) the following vehicle platforms:
— WCSP,
— CR2 LEP,
— MIV;
2) individual and crew training simulation including:
— initial, continuation, refresher training,
— battle craft syllabus (BCS),
— mission specific training (MST).
(b) The following are out of scope:
1) The other training aids that are funded within the training DLODs of the platform programme boards:
— all maintainer training,
— modification of in-service collective training equipment (CATT/TES, etc.),
— range facilities such as targetry and live fire monitoring equipment,
— Level D training and above is out of scope.
VULCAN will comply with The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (SDSR 15), Defence Policy for Simulation, Defence Strategic Direction, Defence Training and Education Coherence (DTEC), Systems of Systems Approach (SOSA) and Training Education Architecture (Land) (TEA(L)).
The MOD will provide all building infrastructure as Government Furnished Assets.
Contract requirements:
Details of the contracted services will be confirmed at ITN.
It is currently envisaged that a single contract will be awarded for the provision of equipment, contractor logistics support (CLS), post design services (PDS) and provision of a training facilitation team for up to Level C Collective Training.
The system shall facilitate the execution and real-time management of the synthetic environment and training events and also provide the ability to review each training event, enabling near real-time feedback for trainees.
In-service support covering areas such as technical support, system modification and integration, simulation and modelling, security administration, system maintenance and repair, inventory management, configuration management, obsolescence management and system design management will be required.
The following training support has been identified:
• train the trainer (to train both the training delivery staff at the individual training establishments and at unit lines);
• ensuring that systems are ready for use by Instructors and Students prior to start of training exercises;
• providing feedback on exercises to inform AAR.
It is anticipated the initial contract duration shall run for 5 years from March 2022 until end of March 2027. It is also anticipated that the authority shall have irrevocable options to extend the contract up to a further 10 years to March 2037. It is our intent to increase the scope of project VULCAN in the future with envisaged integration of simulators for additional vehicles. This is not expected in the first contract let and there is no guarantee that this will occur. However, we expect that existing all new armoured vehicles and those coming to the end of their current contracted training support solution will be integrated into VULCAN. Initial tenders should be for the first contract period.
Estimated value excluding VAT:
Range: between 70 000 000 and 200 000 000 GBP
II.2.2) Information about options:
Options: yes
Upon fulfilling the initial provision of the 5-year contract term, an additional 5 + 5 years could be exercised by the authority. The authority retains the right to exercise this total option duration wholly or as 5-year stints. The authority is under no obligation to exercise the right to the options if it deems inappropriate to do so.
II.2.3) Information about renewals:
II.3) Duration of the contract or time limit for completion

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.1) Deposits and guarantees required:
The authority reserves the right to ask for an indemnity, guarantee or bank bond if the supplier does not meet the standard for economic and financial standing. A parent company guarantee may also be required dependent on the formation and financial standing of the contracting business.
III.1.2) Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
The contract and services provided will be made against an agreed payment plan. Payments will follow successful delivery and acceptance of services. The end to end process for the aforementioned conditions shall be handled within the CP&F system (The DE&S procurement and payments software). Financing and payment conditions shall included in the ITN.
III.1.3) Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
If a group of economic operators submits a bid, the group must nominate a lead organisation to deal with the authority. The authority shall require the group to form a wholly legal entity before entering into the contract.
III.1.4) Other particular conditions
The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: yes
Description of particular conditions: 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 a Security Aspects Letter, the authority reserves the right to amend the terms of the Security Aspects Letter to reflect these changes; whether in respect of the applicable protective marking scheme, protective markings given, the aspects of which any protective marking applies or otherwise.Candidates may be required to have the necessary personal security clearances (PSCs) and may need to have access to facilities with security clearance (Facility Security Clearance ‘FSC’s) e.g. on the List X register in the UK. Candidates which do not yet hold security clearance may obtain such clearance until 24 March 2022. This requirement will be detailed further at ITN.The Cyber Risk Assessment for the procurement is very low, as defined in DEFSTAN 05-138.All suppliers must complete a supplier assurance questionnaire, via the supplier cyber protection service, to demonstrate their level of compliance against the required cyber risk level. The reference number is RAR-4ECA4BG4.Tenderers must, as a minimum, have Cyber Essentials Plus and conform to the very low DEFSTAN 05-138 controls.If the tenderer cannot meet the level of security controls required by the contract start date it does not mean an immediate fail. The tenderer should submit a cyber implementation plan (CIP) as part of their tender submission detailing the steps they would take to meet the necessary controls, together with associated timescales, details of any equivalent standards they have or reasons why they are unable to comply.For note, the requirement for compliance with the cyber security controls is being extended to apply throughout the Defence supply chain. Where the prime contractor intends to subcontract any part of the requirement, they must assess the cyber risk for that subcontract and ensure their supply chain has the appropriate controls or an agreed implementation plan, in place prior to subcontract award.
III.2) Conditions for participation
III.2.1) Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
The authority will apply all the offences listed in Article 39(1) of Directive 2009/81/EC (implemented as Regulation 23(1) of the Defence and Security Public Contract Regulations (DSPCR) 2011 in the UK) and all of the professional misconducts listed at Article 39(2) of Directive 2009/81/EC (see also Regulation 23(2) in the DSPCR 2011) to the decision of whether a candidate is eligible to be invited to tender.A full list of these criteria are at will be required to sign a declaration confirming whether they do or do not have any of the listed criteria as part of the pre-qualification process.Candidates who have been convicted of any of the offences under Article 39(1) are ineligible and will not be selected to bid, unless there are overriding requirements in the general interest (including defence and security factors) for doing so.Candidates who are guilty of any of the offences, circumstances or misconduct under Article 39(2) may be excluded from being selected to bid at the discretion of the authority.
III.2.2) Economic and financial ability
(a) Appropriate statements from the economic operator’s bankers or where appropriate, evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance.Evidence of appropriate professional risk indemnity; at least 2 years certified audited accounts in statutory form, profit and loss account and balance sheet; statement of overall turnover to be provided with DPQQ. A financial assessment will be undertaken on the supplier’s financial status. An overall pass/fail judgement will be made after considering areas such as turnover, profit, net assets, liquidity, gearing and capacity. This assessment will include the parent company where applicable. An independent financial assessment obtained from a reputable credit rating organisation will be utilised as part of this process.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: (a) Appropriate statements from the economic operator’s bankers or where appropriate, evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance.Evidence of appropriate professional risk indemnity; at least 2 years certified audited accounts in statutory form, profit and loss account and balance sheet; statement of overall turnover to be provided with DPQQ. A financial assessment will be undertaken on the supplier’s financial status. An overall pass/fail judgement will be made after considering areas such as turnover, profit, net assets, liquidity, gearing and capacity. This assessment will include the parent company where applicable. An independent financial assessment obtained from a reputable credit rating organisation will be utilised as part of this process.The estimated average annual contract value is GBP 8-10 million. If the estimated average annual contract value is greater than 40 % of the supplier’s turnover, the authority reserves the right to exclude the supplier from being selected to tender except where the supplier provides, to the satisfaction of the authority, evidence showing it has sufficient economic and financial capability, e.g. such evidence may include:1) any additional information proving it has sufficient economic and financial resources to deliver the requirement; and2) state whether the supplier is willing to provide the Authority with an indemnity, guarantee or bank bond.A financial assessment will be undertaken on the supplier’s financial status. An overall pass/fail judgement will be made after considering areas such as turnover, profit, net assets, liquidity, gearing and capacity. This assessment will include the parent company where applicable. An independent financial assessment obtained from a reputable credit rating organisation will be utilised as part of this process.
III.2.3) Technical capacity
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: (c) a statement of the principal goods sold or services provided by the supplier or the services provider in the past 5 years or during a shorter period if necessary, and:(i) the dates on which the goods were sold or the services provided;(ii) the consideration received;(iii) the identity of the person to whom the goods were sold or the service were provided;(iv) any certificate issued or countersigned by that person confirming the details of the contract for those goods sold or services provided; and(v) where:— that person was not a contracting authority, and— the certificate referred to in sub-paragraph (c)(iv) is not available, any declaration by the economic operator attesting the details of the goods sold or services provided;(m) in the case of contracts involving, entailing or containing classified information, evidence of the ability to process, store and transmit such information at the level of protection required by the contracting authority;(o) any other evidence of conformity to quality management systems standards which are equivalent to the standards referred to in subparagraph (n)(i).This and any other information required for evaluation will be sought through the associated dynamic pre-qualification questionnaire (DPPQ).The main contractor will be required to provide evidence of its subcontractor’s ability to process, store and transmit classified information at UK Official.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: The authority reserves the right under Article 21(5) of Directive 2009/81/EC to reject any subcontractor chosen by the main contractor at any stage of the contract award procedure or during performance of the contract if that subcontractor:1) requires access to classified information at UK Official; and2) fails to provide evidence to the satisfaction of the Authority that it has the capability to protect that level of classified information in accordance with Article 42.1(j) of Directive 2009/81/EC.
III.2.4) Information about reserved contracts
III.3) Conditions specific to services contracts
III.3.1) Information about a particular profession
Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession:
III.3.2) Staff responsible for the execution of the service
Legal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service: YES
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Type of procedure
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated
IV.1.2) Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate
Envisaged minimum number: 4 and maximum number 6
Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates:
The information and/or documents for this opportunity are available on www.contracts.mod.uk You must register on this site to respond, if you are already registered you will not need to register again, simply use your existing username and password. Please note there is a password reminder link on the homepage.The deadline for submitting your response(s) is 30 November 2020 at 12.00 noon. Please ensure that you allow yourself plenty of time when responding to this invite prior to the closing date and time, especially if you have been asked to upload documents.If you experience any difficulties, please refer to the online frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) or the user guides or contact the MOD DCO Helpdesk by emailing support@contracts.mod.ukInterested suppliers are required to complete the dynamic PQQ to provide information that allows the authority to evaluate the supplier’s capacities and capabilities against the selection criteria set out at sections III.2.1), III.2.2) and III.2.3) of this contract notice.The authority will use the DPQQ response to create a shortlist of tenderers who:1) are eligible to participate under section III.2.1) of this contract notice;2) fulfil any minimum standards under sections III.2.2) and III.2.3) of this contract notice; and3) best meet in terms of capacity and capability the selection criteria set out sections III.2.2) and III.2.3) of this contract notice.Full details of the evaluation procedure for selecting the candidate tenderers to be invited to the ITN stage of the competition process will be set out in the dynamic PQQ.
IV.1.3) Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue
IV.2) Award criteria
The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document
IV.2.2) Information about electronic auction

IV.3) Administrative information
IV.3.1) File reference number attributed by the contracting authority/entity
TSSP/130
IV.3.2) Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract
No
IV.3.3) Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document
2311202017:00
Payable documents: No
IV.3.4) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
30.11.2020 – 12:00
IV.3.5) Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
31.03.2021
IV.3.6) Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up
EN
IV.3.7) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
In days:
IV.3.8) Conditions for opening of tenders

Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: No
VI.2) Information about European Union funds
The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
VI.3) Additional information
The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.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. The link below to the Gov.uk website provides information on the Government Security Classification.

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
Suppliers must read through this set of instructions and follow the process to respond to this opportunity.
The information and/or documents for this opportunity are available on
You must register on this site to respond, if you are already registered you will not need to register again, simply use your existing username and password. Please note there is a password reminder link on the homepage.
Suppliers must log in, go to your response manager and add the following access code: S654CR87Z8
Please ensure you follow any instruction provided to you here.
The deadline for submitting your response(s) is detailed within this contract notice, you will also have visibility of the deadline date, once you have added the access code via DCO as the opening and closing date is visible within the opportunity.
Please ensure that you allow yourself plenty of time when responding to this opportunity prior to the closing date and time, especially if you have been asked to upload documents.
If you experience any difficulties please refer to the online frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) or the user guides or contact the MOD DCO Helpdesk by emailing support@contracts.mod.uk or Telephone 0800 282 324.
Go reference: GO-2020917-DCB-17091355
VI.4) Procedures for appeal
VI.4.1) Body responsible for appeal procedures:
Ministry of Defence, Land Equipment, Training and Simulation Systems Programme (TSSP)
MOD, Abbey Wood, #3260, Cedar 2B, Filton Road, Stoke Gifford
Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 1179132548
Email: bob.wade102@mod.gov.uk
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
17.09.2020