Find a TenderAwarded
Published 26 Oct 2021, 22:44 BST

Official UK procurement notice

CHC/645 Flat Panel Trainer

Official notice

Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)

ServicesNegotiated without publication of a contract notice
Awarded value£663,327published contract · exc. VAT
Awarded 24 Sept 2021
Awarded to Thales UK Limited

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Secretary of State for Defence (the ‘Authority’) intends to enter into a contract with Thales UK Ltd (“Thales”) for the provision of repairs, spares and engineering support in respect of its existing Chinook Flat Panel Trainer (FPT), enabling its continued use at RAF Benson. The proposed contract term is 3 years and the contract value is estimated to be £0.66M.

In accordance with regulation 4 of The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/697) this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 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 the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (in accordance with the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011 due to technical reasons.

Thales are the original equipment manufacturers and Design Authority of the Digital Cockpit fitted on the UK Chinook aircraft. As such, the In Service support of the Flat Panel Trainer (including the provision of repairs and spares) together with the related Project Management, can only be carried out by Thales as Thales exclusively own the software rights and holds the relevant skills, technical data, proprietary information (including drawing and design information) and know-how that is needed to meet the requirement. Thales previously confirmed that it is not prepared to share or license the use of that proprietary information outside of the Company and the UK Ministry of Defence does not have a right to obtain the necessary documentation from Thales. The aforementioned skills, technical data, drawing and design information are necessary for the performance of the requirement.

Furthermore, only Thales holds the level of certification (under the Authority's Design Approved Organisation (DAOS) and Maintenance Approved Organisation (MAOS) Schemes) necessary to carry out the activities that are required in order to meet the Military Aviation Authority’s Regulatory Articles applicable to the Flat Panel Trainer. It is not possible for another company to obtain the relevant level of certification without access to the skills, knowledge and technical information that only Thales hold.

CPV: Aircraft or spacecraft equipment, trainers, simulators and associated parts · Repair and maintenance services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Support and maintenance of the FPT

Support and maintenance of the FPT. Additional information: Cyber Risk Assessment rating: 'N/A'.

Delivery: UK
Extensions: Option to extend support by a further 2 years.

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more
How bids were scored
  • Lowest price

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Negotiated without publication of a contract notice
Legal basis
CELEX · 32009L0081 Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (Directive 2009/81/EC)
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Awarded
Procurement threshold
Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
26 Oct 2021, 22:44 BST
Last source update
26 Oct 2021, 22:44 BST
FTS notice number
2021/S 000-026841
Classification (CPV)
Aircraft or spacecraft equipment, trainers, simulators and associated partsRepair and maintenance services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-02f046 Find a Tender
Why no open competition

The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development under the conditions stated in the directive; The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons

Published justification

The Secretary of State for Defence (the ‘Authority’) intends to enter into a contract with Thales UK Ltd (“Thales”) for the provision of repairs, spares and engineering support in respect of its existing Chinook Flat Panel Trainer (FPT), enabling its continued use at RAF Benson. The proposed contract term is 3 years and the contract value is estimated to be £0.66M.

In accordance with regulation 4 of The Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/697) this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 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 the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (in accordance with the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011 due to technical reasons.

Thales are the original equipment manufacturers and Design Authority of the Digital Cockpit fitted on the UK Chinook aircraft. As such, the In Service support of the Flat Panel Trainer (including the provision of repairs and spares) together with the related Project Management, can only be carried out by Thales as Thales exclusively own the software rights and holds the relevant skills, technical data, proprietary information (including drawing and design information) and know-how that is needed to meet the requirement. Thales previously confirmed that it is not prepared to share or license the use of that proprietary information outside of the Company and the UK Ministry of Defence does not have a right to obtain the necessary documentation from Thales. The aforementioned skills, technical data, drawing and design information are necessary for the performance of the requirement.

Furthermore, only Thales holds the level of certification (under the Authority's Design Approved Organisation (DAOS) and Maintenance Approved Organisation (MAOS) Schemes) necessary to carry out the activities that are required in order to meet the Military Aviation Authority’s Regulatory Articles applicable to the Flat Panel Trainer. It is not possible for another company to obtain the relevant level of certification without access to the skills, knowledge and technical information that only Thales hold.

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £663,3271 contract exc. VAT
Contracts signed 1latest 24 Sept 2021
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Thales UK LimitedSubcontracting: declared£663,327 †—Awarded

Contracts

  • Contract 026841-2021-CHC/645 Flat Panel Trainer-1 · Thales UK Limited

    Signed
    24 Sept 2021
    Value
    £663,327
    Status
    active

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Ministry of Defence

Contracting authorityCentral GovernmentBody governed by public lawDefence Bristol, UKContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.