Award

Logistic Drone Swarm Experimentation

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

17 Mar 2021 at 16:37

Award

05 Mar 2021 at 16:21

Summary of the contracting process

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has completed a public procurement process for the "Logistic Drone Swarm Experimentation" project, classified under miscellaneous software packages and computer systems, with a focus on goods. This contract, with a total value of £625,000, was awarded to Blue Bear Systems Research Ltd (BBSR) and aimed to integrate swarming software onto Royal Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for logistic resupply operations. The procurement method utilised was a limited negotiated procedure without prior publication, and the contract was active from March to July 2021.

This tender offers significant opportunities for businesses involved in advanced software development, UAV technology, and military logistics, particularly those specialising in systems integration and autonomous operations. Companies with capabilities in creating bespoke software solutions and those experienced in military or defence contracting would be well-positioned to engage in similar future tenders, especially given the emphasis on technical expertise for projects needing approved safety protocols and innovative operational capabilities.

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Notice Title

Logistic Drone Swarm Experimentation

Notice Description

1. This contract sees leading edge experimentation with BBSR to integrate their edge processing swarming software architecture onto Royal Marine experimental UAVs being employed as modular air vehicles for Find, Lift, Protect and Strike missions

Lot Information

Lot 1

1. This contract sees leading edge experimentation with BBSR to integrate their edge processing swarming software architecture onto Royal Marine experimental UAVs being employed as modular air vehicles for Find, Lift, Protect and Strike missions, and automating a multirole ground surveillance camera being trialled. Both pieces of hardware have competed procurements underway for the FCF, reinforcing the importance of this proposal. a. Platform integration of BBSR Centurion software onto 8 x Malloy TRV-150 & Podview ground camera: CONOPS definition workshops & report System architecture (First Draft) Interface definitions - Blue Bear (Smart Connect) / Malloy (T150) interface definition 8 SmartConnect boxes Bluebear primed sub-contract to Malloy Aeronautics for their integration and support work and flight testing on 8x TRV150s MPU5 (data link) integration and compatibility test with RN MPU5s and quick tech note report. Smart connect platform integration onto PodView camera & deliver 1 x camera to user & demonstrate edge processing on Centurion & demonstrate object based recognition algorithm to acquire vehicles & personnel. Blue Bear primed sub-contract to Overview Ltd for the supply of the PodView camera systems and hardware support/engineering effort required for integration for production of deployable prototype operating Centurion software & edge-processing AI recognition analytics for acquisition and classification of personnel and vehicles b. User training on BBSR Centurion of 15 ranks from 40 Cdo and Cdo Logs Regiment One-week training course for CDO personnel Consolidation training flying system in synthetic environment on Centurion c. Development and submission of beyond visual line of sight (BLOS) operational safety case into the CAA to authorise UK experimentation to cover two events. BVLOS OSC designed and submitted. Needs to be done ASAP to try and get approved it in time. d. Trials & safety support to enable tactical swarm experimentation with frontline users: 8 days with 3 Cdo Bde UAV operators on MOD training estate e. Digital logistic demand development: Development & delivery of logistics software plugin to enable automated 'on demand' tactical resupply from multiple task-loaded TRV-150s. FCF CSS ConOps integration work into Centurion and behaviour development

Procurement Information

The JHub team, part of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MoD), intends to award a 4-month contract from March 2021 to July 2021 (with a value of PS625,000) to Blue Bear Systems Research Ltd (BBSR) to supply nine micro-computers and bespoke 'swarming' software and integrate them onto existing Royal Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which are used as logistic resupply vehicles. It is considered that this contract can be awarded using the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice pursuant to regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contract Regulations 2011 for technical reasons. This is because BBSR's 'swarming' system is the only system considered to have the proven ability to a) connect with any existing UAV with minimal integration; and b) control multiple UAVs to operate autonomously in 'swarms'. BBSR is also the only company to have been granted permission from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to conduct 'swarm' flights of up to 20 UAVs in UK airspace, which is required in order to conduct the necessary flight trials.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0298df
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005445-2021
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large, SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems


CPV Codes

48000000 - Software package and information systems

48900000 - Miscellaneous software package and computer systems

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£625,000 £500K-£1M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
17 Mar 20214 years ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
5 Mar 20214 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Contact Name
Keiran Jones
Contact Email
keiran.jones231@mod.gov.uk
Contact Phone
+44 2392725856

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
EC2A 4DW
Post Town
Central London
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI41 Hackney and Newham
Delivery Location
TLJ3 Hampshire and Isle of Wight, TLK South West (England)

Local Authority
Hackney
Electoral Ward
Hoxton East & Shoreditch
Westminster Constituency
Hackney South and Shoreditch

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

BLUE BEAR SYSTEMS RESEARCH

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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