Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2023/S 000-001869/EN)
Nature of contract: Supply contract
Procedure: Negotiated without a call for competition
Type of bid required: Not applicable

Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Supplies

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: Ministry of Defence
Town: Bristol
Country: United Kingdom
Email: nicholas.harris841@mod.gov.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address: www.mod.gov.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: Framework Agreement value is £1.00 ex VAT. The Total Fleet Requirement (TFR) is approx 10,000 systems. estimated contract value of £150M ex VAT subject to financial approval.

Reference number: 706392450-ARILLS 2-VTN
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 38633000
II.1.3) Type of contract Supplies
II.1.4) Short Description:
Assault Rifle In-Line Low Light Sight 2
II.1.6) Information about lots
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement(excluding VAT)
Value:150000000.00
Currency:GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
Main CPV code: 38633000

II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code:
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Dismounted Close Combat project team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to place a seven-year Framework Agreement with Qioptiq Limited for the continued procurement of the TALON Fused Weapon Sight – Image Intensifier / Thermal Imager under the Assault Rifle In-Line Low Light Sight (ARILLS) capability.
All future purchases will be subject to financial approval on a case-by-case basis.
There will be no initial quantity from the outset. However, there is an estimated TFR of 10,000 TALON systems over the life of the framework, estimated at £150m ex VAT.

II.2.5) Award criteria
II.2.11) Information about options
Options: no
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
II.2.14) Additional information:
This notice is not a request for expressions of interest so please do not apply to be invited to tender. This notice advises that the Authority has decided to negotiate a contract with the named supplier on a single source basis and is published for reasons of transparency.If you are interested in becoming a sub-contractor for this requirement, you should apply directly to the supplier named above

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.1.3) Information about framework agreement
The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement
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: 706392450
Title: Assault Rifle In-Line Low Light Sight 2

V.2) Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:2023-01-20
V.2.2) Information about tenders
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Official name: Qioptiq
Postal address: Glascoed Road, St Asaph
Town: Denbighshire
Postal code: LL17 0LL
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 7500085704
Email: Dennis.Bates@excelitas.com
Nuts code:
Internet address: www.qioptiq.com
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: MOD
Town: Bristol
Country: United Kingdom

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
2023-01-20

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

No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to:
negotiated procedure with prior publication of a contract notice

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:
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 in the UK e-notification service (as required by the relevant legislation) and is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR for technical reasons.
This is due to strict technical impracticality for any other economic operator other than Qioptiq to achieve the same technical requirements/output performance provided by the TALON system that offers a fused dual-channel sight and the interoperability, compatibility and commonality purposes that is required with the current TALON fleet as part of the ARILLS requirement. Qioptiq are the only economic operator that has the necessary know-how/access to information to manufacture and provide the TALON system, to meet the Authority’s requirement.
Qioptiq is the only economic operator that can meet the Authority’s requirement to provide the TALON Fused Weapon Sight – Image Intensifier / Thermal Imager, for the assault rifle weapon system, that meets the Authority’s bespoke needs.
The Authority’s critical technical capabilities as part of the ARILLS requirement can only be met by this unique TALON system, and the requirement therefore cannot be met by another economic operator.