Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2024/S 000-020829/EN)
Nature of contract:
Procedure: Not applicable

Contract notice

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name addresses and contact point(s):
Ministry of Defence
MOD Abbey Wood South, 1261, Spruce 2B
Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
United Kingdom
For the attention of: Simpson Connor
Email: connor.simpson165@mod.gov.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:
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: UAS Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC) Framework Reopening #2
II.1.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance:
Services
Service category No 26: Recreational, cultural and sporting services
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:
This Opportunity Listing is a chance to join the extant UASHLC Framework:
The Uncrewed Air Systems Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC) Framework (the Framework) has been created by the Authority to accelerate the development of a range of autonomous Heavy Lift UAS for use predominantly, but not exclusively, in the maritime domain.
The intention is to address the lack of current options in the market by increasing the number of delivery ready platforms in order to help support and develop the Authority’s understanding of the potential capabilities and operational uses for such Uncrewed systems.
The Authority will facilitate accelerated development of one or more Supplier UAS to meet or exceed the requirements of Authority defined Minimum Viable Products (MVPs), along with complementary and underpinning technologies that will enhance UAS operational capabilities.
Our intent is to ensure that Defence will have access at the speed of relevance, to current and future emerging cutting-edge capabilities for use within the Royal Navy and other domains.
The Authority will facilitate, via the use of this competitive framework, an environment whereby suppliers are able to demonstrate current capabilities, set out product development and commercial exploitation roadmaps and work with both the Authority and potentially with other suppliers to accelerate pace of development and reduce time to market.
The purpose of the UASHLC Framework is therefore to support and inform the development of Maritime operating concepts and enable assessment, analysis, exploration and evaluation of the use of UAS for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) payload delivery and broader UAS capabilities.
The Framework is designed specifically to:
i) provide Sponsor / User confidence in the potential for UAS systems to provide recoverable, adaptable, Autonomous/remotely piloted air systems, capable of accurately delivering heavy payloads at range;
ii) enable the Authority to identify and as appropriate fund the most viable solutions in the market for accelerated further development in order to meet the Authority’s minimum requirements (the MVPs) within the timescales stated,
iii) provide the Authority with a mechanism for end users to potentially acquire systems for further evaluation or other use.
The framework is open to all Industry Partners who can articulate how their technology/capability can enhance the Heavy Lift UAS market, thereby not constraining the framework to only Platform providers, as underpinning and novel UAS related technologies and capabilities are also in scope. These underpinning and novel technologies and capabilities can encompass (but aren’t restricted to) payloads, fuels, software, and Counter UAS technologies (ground or platform based).

II.1.6) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV): 73410000, 35613100,
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:
Estimated value excluding VAT:
95000000 GBP
II.2.2) Information about options:

II.2.3) Information about renewals:
II.3) Duration of the contract or time limit for completion
Duration in months: 40 (from the award of the contract)

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.1) Deposits and guarantees required:
III.1.2) Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
III.1.3) Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
III.1.4) Other particular conditions
III.2) Conditions for participation
III.2.1) Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

Suppliers Instructions How to Express Interest in this Tender:
1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once)
– Browse to the eSourcing Portal
– Click the “Click here to register” link
– Accept the terms and conditions and click “continue”
– Enter your correct business and user details
– Note the username you chose and click “Save” when complete
– You will shortly receive an email with your unique password (please keep this secure)
2. Express an Interest in the tender
– Login to the portal with the username/password
– Click the “PQQs Open to All Suppliers” link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires open to any registered supplier)
– Click on the relevant PQQ to access the content.
– Click the “Express Interest” button in the “Actions” box on the left-hand side of the page.
– This will move the PQQ into your “My PQQs” page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only)
– Click on the PQQ code, you can now access any attachments by clicking the “Settings and Buyer Attachments” in the “Actions” box
3. Responding to the tender
– You can now choose to “Reply” or “Reject” (please give a reason if rejecting)
– You can now use the ‘Messages’ function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification
– Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ
– There may be a mixture of online & offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available)
If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk.

III.2.2) Economic and financial ability

Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
III.2.3) Technical capacity
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
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:
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Type of procedure
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Restricted
IV.1.2) Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate
IV.1.3) Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue
IV.2) Award criteria
IV.2.2) Information about electronic auction

IV.3) Administrative information
IV.3.1) File reference number attributed by the contracting authority/entity
IV.3.2) Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

IV.3.3) Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document
Payable documents: Yes
IV.3.4) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
12.8.2024 – 17:00
IV.3.5) Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
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
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 intends to use an e-Tendering system in this procurement exercise, please visit www.contracts.mod.uk for full details and to register your interest in this procurement.
VI.4) Procedures for appeal
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
8.7.2024