Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2023/S 000-036424/EN)
Nature of contract: Service contract
Procedure: Award of a contract without prior publication
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
Postal address: Abbey Wood, NH1 Atrium
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom
Contact Person: Anne Kut
Email: anne.kut100@mod.gov.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address: www.DES.MOD.UK

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: FsAST 709441451 Virtual Reality Parachute Trainer
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 80650000
II.1.3) Type of contract Services
II.1.4) Short Description:
The Flight Simulation and Synthetic Training Team, part of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (“the Authority”) intends to place a new contract with Pennant PLC (“Pennant”) for the repair and software maintenance of an updated Virtual Reality Parachute Trainer (VRPT 3) at RAF Brize Norton. The Authority intends to place a new contract with Pennant for a value of £670,000 for a period of up to 5 years, plus 5-year option.
II.1.6) Information about lots
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement(excluding VAT)
Value:670000.00
Currency:GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code:
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Flight Simulation and Synthetic Training Team, part of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (“the Authority”) intends to place a new contract with Pennant PLC (“Pennant”) for the repair and software maintenance of an updated Virtual Reality Parachute Trainer (VRPT 3) at RAF Brize Norton. The Authority intends to place a new contract with Pennant for a value of £670,000 for a period of up to 5 years, plus 5-year option.

II.2.5) Award criteria
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:yes
Description of options:
1 x 5 years

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
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union in the cases listed below
(please complete point 2 of the Annex D)
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: FsAST 709441451
Title: Virtual Reality Parachute Trainer 3

V.2) Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:2023-11-15
V.2.2) Information about tenders
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Official name: Pennant International Limited
Postal address: Pennant Court (Head Office) , Staverton Technology Park , Cheltenham
Town: Cheltenham
Country: United Kingdom
Nuts code:
The contractor is an SME: yes

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: Defence Equipment and Support
Postal address: MOD Abbey Wood
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
2023-12-11

Other justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for competition
in the Official Journal of the European Union
The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive

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:
The Flight Simulation and Synthetic Training Team, part of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (“the Authority”) intends to place a new contract with Pennant PLC (“Pennant”) for the repair and software maintenance of an updated Virtual Reality Parachute Trainer (VRPT 3) at RAF Brize Norton. The Authority intends to place a new contract with Pennant for a value of £670,000 for a period of up to 5 years, plus 5-year option. In accordance with Regulation 4 of The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI No.2019/697) this procurement shall be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (DSPCR 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 this contract can be placed using the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice pursuant to Reg 16 (1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011 on the basis that no economic operator aside from Pennant is capable of meeting the Authority’s requirements for technical reasons, namely lack of access to technical documentation would mean that any new supplier would not be able to attain sufficient level of delivery to ensure safety case deliverables would be maintained for this risk to life mitigation training aid.