Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
MOD Addendum
GB-Bristol: A400M Medium Weight Aerial Delivery (MWAD)
Region Codes: Not Provided
Section I: Contract Title
Contract Title: GB-Bristol: A400M Medium Weight Aerial Delivery (MWAD)
Section II: Identification Numbers
MOD Contract Notice Nr: 17270918
Contract Number: C17CSAE/MWAD/RFI/2020
Section III: Issuing Branch / Organisation Details
Notice Address:
MOD
Abbey Wood, Walnut 2B #1229, NH1, MOD Abbey Wood, Bristol, BS34 8JH, United Kingdom
Tel. 030 679 8275, Email: DESC17CSAE-Commercial@mod.gov.uk, URL:
Contact: Ashley Morris, Attn: Ashley Morris
Section IV: Product / Service Descriptor Code
Industry Codes:
35640000 – Parts for military aerospace equipment.
Section V: Summary of Requirements / Description of Work
Summary of Requirements / Description of Work: Parts for military aerospace equipment. Further to the original RFI published on 23/10/2020 and Further Information Notice published on the 30/11/2020 , Reference Number C17CASE/MWAD/RFI/2020 please find below a record of the questions received relating to this RFI, along with their subsequent answers.
1. Will the parachutes and ancillaries needed for the ground trials be provided by the Authority as GFE or is the company required to provide a complete airdrop system?
Answer: No, the company will be expected to provide a complete airdrop system for trialling, including any components or equipment required for the system to operate as intended.
2. Is the company expected to supply the platform/system for the ground trials free of charge on a loan basis or will it be purchased by the Authority?
Answer: For the purposes of this RFI, please assume companies are not expected to supply the platform free of charge. Please include all anticipated manufacture/modification costs in your ROM.
3. Paragraph 8d. Could the Authority please expand on this and provide details of what IP licencing they may require for through life support.
Answer: The Authority would like to understand the extent to which companies are willing to licence their IP, for example pre-existing design, maintenance and repair information, that would ultimately allow future in-service support requirements to be competed between other economic operators.
4. Is the intention that the MWADS platform will be reusable post recovery from an air drop. If this is the case could the Authority outline the extent of such re-usage including any constraints?
Answer: For the purposes of this RFI, please assume the MWAD system should be recoverable and reusable at 1st line, minus consumables. Further detail would be contained within a System Requirements Document of any future procurement.
5. Define the specific payloads that MWADS will be required to accommodate?
Answer: The purpose of this RFI, specific payloads will not be defined. It is anticipated the Authority will clear a load envelope as described within the original RFI. Load types within this envelope would typically consist of combat supplies, weapons systems or vehicles (wheeled and tracked), with loads rigged to distribute the mass and restraint forces appropriately.
6. Request the Authority supply basic dimensional data for all in-scope payloads identified for used with the MWADS equipment? As a minimum we require mass, overall dimensions, Centre of Gravity (CoG) positions, and ‘Ground Interface Points’ (such as wheelbase, etc. for all variants of payload.
Answer: The purpose of this RFI, specific payloads will not be defined. Please see the above answer to question 5.
7. Request that the Authority defines the allowable ground impact velocity for all payloads.
Answer: Ground impact velocity for the system is anticipated to be defined in accordance with Def Stan 00-003 (between 0.7 and 0.9 m/s).
8. Request that the Authority clarify the environmental conditions of insertion using MWADS? In particular, insertion altitude range, operating temperatures and ground conditions.
Answer: It is expected the system should be capable of being despatched from the aircraft up to a maximum of 8000ft Pressure Altitude and down to a minimum altitude of 1000ft Above Ground Level or lower. Further detail would be contained within a System Requirements Document of any future procurement.
9. Request the Authority clarify the testing facilities to be used for system drop testing and if possible the planned dates for such tests?
Answer: It is anticipated the testing facilities will be predominately based in UK at RAF Brize Norton and Drop Zones on Salisbury Plain. Potentially, some aircraft integration testing at Airbus in Bremen and Getafe may be required for aircraft Clearance.
End.