ACTF2 - Keysight - GNSS Simulator Support

The Authority (the Space Delivery Team within NAD-G) intends to award a contract to Keysight Technologies UK Limited (Keysight) for the provision of Through Life Support (TLS) services for the Keysight GSS9000 GNSS Simulator installed within the Anechoic Chamber Test Facility 2 (ACTF2) at MOD Boscombe Down. The required TLS services include maintenance and repair, software support and licensing, technical support, calibration and verification, obsolescence management and training support.

The contract will be awarded by Direct Award under Section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023. The Authority considers that the conditions set out in Schedule 5 Paragraph 6 (Technical Reasons) are satisfied because competition is absent for technical reasons and no reasonable alternative supplier exists.

Keysight is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and sole Design Authority for the GSS9000 GNSS Simulator. Keysight alone possesses the technical expertise and engineering knowledge required to service and support the hardware, software, firmware and associated proprietary calibration processes necessary for the operation of the simulator suite and the accurate simulation of GNSS environments.

No other economic operator possesses the technical expertise, engineering know-how, specialised OEM diagnostic tools, calibration equipment, proprietary technical data and associated calibration processes required to effectively service and maintain the Keysight GNSS Simulator. As a result, Keysight alone holds the capability necessary to maintain, calibrate, update and support all software, firmware and hardware aspects of the simulator to the standards required to sustain operational integrity and system availability.

Accordingly, the Authority considers that only Keysight can provide the required TLS services and that, due to the absence of competition for technical reasons, no reasonable alternative supplier exists.