Watchkeeper In-Service Support 2024 - 2027

Official notice

Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)

GoodsAward procedure without prior publication of a call for competition

Sectors: Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment (35) Delivery: South East (UKJ11)

Awarded value£90,000,000published contract · exc. VAT

Awarded 2 Feb 2024no call for competition

Awarded to Thales UK Limited

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Thales Watchkeeper is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for all weather, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) used by the British Army. Watchkeeper In-Service Support has been provided since the AV came into service in the 2010s.

CPV: Unmanned aerial vehicles

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

Lot #1Continued Watchkeeper Air Vehicle In-Service Support

Continued Watchkeeper Air Vehicle In-Service Support. 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2027.

This consists of;

Provision of service management
Asset Management
Obsolescence Management
Training
Engineering and Safety
Management of the Sustainment Fleet

Delivery: South East

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record

Procedure method: Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Legal basis: CELEX · 32009L0081 Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (Directive 2009/81/EC)
Procurement category: Goods
Notice status: Awarded without competition
Procurement threshold: Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime: Standard
Commercial structure: Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type: Direct award (no call for competition)
GPA / WTO covered: Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement: Unspecified in notice
First published: 2 Feb 2024, 12:32 GMT
Last source update: 2 Feb 2024, 12:32 GMT
FTS notice number: 2024/S 000-003519
Classification (CPV): Unmanned aerial vehicles
Delivery area: South East (UKJ11)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0436c5 Find a Tender

Why no open competition: The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
Published justification: Short description of the contract or purchase(s):
To extend the existing scope of the extant Watchkeeper In-Service Support (ISS) Contract UAS/00096 including delivery of continued Test and Evaluation (T & E) and activities to address known WK system obsolescence.
Reason For Award of Contract:
To enable the Watchkeeper Air Vehicle to operate at numerous Units of Action and Points of Presence in the UK and overseas for a further three-year period until 2027.
Justification for Non-Competitive Decision:
Technical Reasons
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.
Thales UK (ISR) are the platform Design Authority Approved Organisation Scheme (DAOS) and Military Airworthiness Organisation Scheme (MAOS) accredited Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), in conjunction with other equipment OEMs within the supply chain. Therefore, only Thales have the technical documents and proprietary information (including software), equipment, infrastructure, skills, knowledge and authority (via the MAA) required in order to safely carry out this work. No other contractor would be able to safely perform this requirement as no other contractor would have access to the required technical and proprietary information.
Main Place of Performance or Delivery:
Thales Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR), Crawley, Manor Royal, Crawley, Sussex RH10 9HA, United Kingdom

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 1

Awarded value £90,000,0001 contract exc. VAT

Contracts signed 1latest 2 Feb 2024

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
Thales UK LimitedSubcontracting: declared	£90,000,000 †	—	Awarded

Contracts

Contract 003519-2024-1 · Thales UK Limited
Signed
2 Feb 2024
Value
£90,000,000
Status
active

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Ministry of Defence

Contracting authorityCentral GovernmentMinistry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisionsDefence Bristol, South WestContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Thales UKAwarded supplier Crawley, South East

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.