Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2024/S 000-038392/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
Country: United Kingdom
Email: DES-AirISTAR-E7-CM@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: Mission Crew Trainer Sustainment
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 80660000
II.1.3) Type of contract Services
II.1.4) Short Description:
The E7 Acquisition Project Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a 3-year contract to Plexsys Interface Products UK Ltd for the maintenance of the current Mission Crew Trainer software and hardware located in RAF Lossiemouth. This contract placement is intended to be awarded with an additional 3 option years.
II.1.6) Information about lots
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement(excluding VAT)
Value:10966000.00
Currency:GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code:
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The E7 Acquisition Project Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a 3-year contract to Plexsys Interface Products UK Ltd for the maintenance of the current Mission Crew Trainer software and hardware located in RAF Lossiemouth. This contract placement is intended to be awarded with an additional 3 option years.
It is considered that this contract can be placed using the Negotiated Procedure without Prior Publication of a Contract Notice pursuant to Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the UK Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 for technical reasons. This is because Plexsys Interface Products UK Ltd are the only company to have access to the Mission Crew Trainer source code/data and other necessary technical information to enable it to meet the RAF’s synthetic training needs and provide the maintenance required throughout the contracting period.
To be successful in maintaining the functionality of the equipment, the supplier must have suitable experience and detailed knowledge of the system including both hardware and software which is only available within Plexsys. It is critical that the Mission Crew Trainer device remains fully operational and contracting with another contractor would pose a high risk to its critical functionality, thereby jeopardising the training of rear crew. For these reasons, Plexsys Interface Products UK Ltd is the only supplier able to meet the requirement

II.2.5) Award criteria
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:yes
Description of options:
3 x 1 year options following initial 3 year period.

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
V.2) Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:2024-11-28
V.2.2) Information about tenders
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Official name: PLEXSYS Interface Products UK LTD
Town: Lincoln
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: Ministry of Defence
Town: Bristol
Country: United Kingdom

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
2024-11-28

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 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:
The E7 Acquisition Project Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a 3-year contract to Plexsys Interface Products UK Ltd for the maintenance of the current Mission Crew Trainer software and hardware located in RAF Lossiemouth. This contract placement is intended to be awarded with an additional 3 option years.
It is considered that this contract can be placed using the Negotiated Procedure without Prior Publication of a Contract Notice pursuant to Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the UK Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 for technical reasons. This is because Plexsys Interface Products UK Ltd are the only company to have access to the Mission Crew Trainer source code/data and other necessary technical information to enable it to meet the RAF’s synthetic training needs and provide the maintenance required throughout the contracting period.
To be successful in maintaining the functionality of the equipment, the supplier must have suitable experience and detailed knowledge of the system including both hardware and software which is only available within Plexsys. It is critical that the Mission Crew Trainer device remains fully operational and contracting with another contractor would pose a high risk to its critical functionality, thereby jeopardising the training of rear crew. For these reasons, Plexsys Interface Products UK Ltd is the only supplier able to meet the requirement