Tender

Uncrewed Surface & Subsurface Vessel (USSV)

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Tender

02 Sep 2022 at 19:55

Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Ministry of Defence is seeking bids for the procurement of an Uncrewed Surface & Subsurface Vessel (USSV) as part of a military research and technology project. The contract is valued at £4.45 million and will follow a restricted procedure. The tender deadline is October 4, 2022, with a contract period starting on October 17, 2022, and ending on March 31, 2025, based in Bristol, South West, United Kingdom. Companies interested in designing, manufacturing, and operating autonomous vessels should demonstrate their capabilities by providing supporting evidence.

This opportunity presents a chance for businesses specializing in autonomous vessel technology to compete for a framework contract under a selective procurement method. The Ministry of Defence is looking for companies that can deliver innovative solutions meeting specific requirements within the stipulated time frame. SMEs are encouraged to participate, and successful bidders will compete for funding to accelerate system development, aiming for a full-scale demonstration within the contract duration to maximize value for money in the procurement process.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Uncrewed Surface & Subsurface Vessel (USSV)

Notice Description

The Authority has a developing requirement to demonstrate a full-scale prototype of an autonomous vessel capability that is able to transit on the surface at speed, quickly transitioning sub-surface for covert delivery of capabilities. Integration into an open architecture network (NSN) will be critical for these vessels to operate autonomously and deploy modular mission payloads. The littoral strike battlespace commander requires surveillance, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and strike effectors, which can be covertly deployed to multiple simultaneous maritime locations and persist to enhance commando operations. The capability must have a useful service life, operate from the broadest range of platforms, worldwide, by day and night, survive likely threats and be deliverable. Due to the rapid timescales the authority is driving, we would expect that companies we will be working with will have already successfully designed, manufactured and operated an autonomous vessel (as described above) capable of surface and sub-surface operation up to at least fully-operational demonstrator stage. If companies have not achieved this to date, we would expect companies to achieve a minimum entry criteria, potentially backed up by authority SQEP panel via on-site visits to confirm that you have capabilities, resources, plans and measures in place to meet this requirement within the given timescales. Please provide supporting evidence to the above within the white paper. It is expected that the work will involve experimentation and demonstrations of an uncrewed Surface and subsurface vessel. The contractual mechanism is intended to be a multi-supplier framework. Potential bidders are invited to register their interest in receiving an Invitation to Tender to join the framework by first completing the associated Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) and White Paper template. The Authority intends to invite all eligible companies who pass the PQQ to tender for the Framework. Companies who successfully pass the PQQ will be considered eligible to receive an Invitation to Tender at the next stage of the programme. c.PS4.45M inc VAT is available to be split amongst multiple companies under a competitive process and assessed for best Value For Money (VFM), awarding to 1 or more companies to accelerate towards Min Viable Product (MVP) within the Design/Re-design, Manufacture and Demo phases between Dec 22 and Mar 25. The process as currently defined post PQQ will be to issue an ITT against a minimum requirement, select bidders, accelerate the proposed systems through funding, with the intent of having a full scale demonstration within the framework duration. As with any framework, there can be no guarantee of any particular quantity of work being put through it.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-8adf5d0c-6c64-4ac6-9736-e669b4dc3def
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/d755aaa2-888f-45b0-a428-63a8054f9f86
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Not specified
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Restricted procedure (above threshold)
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

CPV Codes

73410000 - Military research and technology

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£4,445,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
2 Sep 20223 years ago
Submission Deadline
4 Oct 2022Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
16 Oct 2022 - 31 Mar 2025 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Active
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BRISTOL
Postcode
BS34 8JH
Post Town
Bristol
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK5 West of England
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK52 Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire
Delivery Location
TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
South Gloucestershire
Electoral Ward
Stoke Park & Cheswick
Westminster Constituency
Filton and Bradley Stoke

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

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