Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2023/S 000-035528/EN)
Nature of contract: Service contract
Procedure: Negotiated without a call for competition
Type of bid required: Not applicable

Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Services

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: Ministry of Defence
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom
Contact Person: Lewis Harvey-Samuel
Email: lewis.harvey-samuel100@mod.gov.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address:

I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions
I.5) Main activity
Defence

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title: PROJECT VENTUS
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 73410000
II.1.3) Type of contract Services
II.1.4) Short Description:
Research and development services relating to a concept demonstration of alternate and non-radar sensor technologies to support UK Air Surveillance in development of the Recognised Air Picture.
II.1.6) Information about lots
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement(excluding VAT)
Value:800000
Currency:GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code:
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Research and development services relating to a concept demonstration of alternate and non-radar sensor technologies to support UK Air Surveillance in development of the Recognised Air Picture.

II.2.5) Award criteria
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:yes
Description of options:
Option 1: Additional tasks as may be required to support the concept demonstration.

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(in accordance with Article 28 of Directive 2009/81/EU)
IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement(GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: no
IV.2) Administrative information

Section V: Award of contract/concession
Contract No: 709298450
Title: PROJECT VENTUS

V.2) Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:2023-12-01
V.2.2) Information about tenders
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Official name: Leonardo UK
Town: Luton
Country: United Kingdom
Nuts code:
The contractor is an SME: no

V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession(excluding VAT)
for framework agreements – total maximum value for this lot
for contracts based on framework agreements, if required – value of contract(s) for this lot not included in
previous contract award notices
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/lot/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Value or proportion likely to be subcontracted to third parties

Section VI: Complementary informationVI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Official name: Air Defence and Electronic Warfare Systems and Windfarms Delivery Team
Postal address: Defence Equipment & Support
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
2023-12-01

Justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for
competition in the Official Journal of the European Union
1.Justification for the choice of the negotiated procedure without publication of a call for competition in accordance with
Article 28 of Directive 2009/81/EU
The contract concerns research and development services other than those referred to in Article 13 of
Directive 2009/81/EC(for services and supplies only)

The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment,study or development under the conditions
stated in the directive(for services and supplies only)
The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
absence of competition for technical reasons

3.Explanation
Please explain in a clear and comprehensive manner why the award of the contract without prior publication in the Official Journal of the European Union
is lawful, by stating the relevant facts and, as appropriate, the conclusions of law in accordance with the directive:
Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a Single Source Non-Qualifying Defence Contract with Leonardo UK Ltd (“the Contractor”) to carry out research and development services relating to a concept demonstration of alternate and non-radar sensor technologies to support UK Air Surveillance in development of the Recognised Air Picture.
The Contractor will support a concept demonstration, which is designed and delivered by the RAF. The contractor will provide a report on findings. The concept demonstration will use an existing in-service sensor for which the Contractor is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). As the OEM, only the Contractor possesses the necessary technical information to conduct the concept demonstration.
It is considered that this proposed contract for research & development services can be awarded using the negotiation without prior publication of a contract notice procedure. This is because it falls under The Defence and Security Public Contract Regulations (DSPCR) 2011, Regulation 16(1)(c)(i) (as amended by The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, and The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020).
It meets the DSPCR’s definition of R&D activities, as an R&D services contract other than those covered by the R&D services exclusion at Regulation 7(1)(l). This proposed contract is assessed as falling under the definition of applied research as defined at Regulation 3.
It is considered that this contract is also justified under DSPCR Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii), on grounds of unique technical capability. Only the OEM, Leonardo UK, has the necessary technical information to deliver the requirement. This is because the supplier is required to assess whether the equipment is fit for purpose and if necessary to upgrade / maintain the equipment. The supplier must also oversee deployment at the concept demonstration. The system is a bespoke novel in-service system which has a design specific to the OEM, therefore an alternative supplier would have to reverse engineer the technology, causing unknown time delay and introducing unacceptable risk in the performance of the requirement.