Award

CHC/628 (700217320) Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) Support Contract

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

22 Dec 2021 at 22:45

Summary of the contracting process

The Ministry of Defence has completed a public procurement process for the "Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) Support Contract", which has been awarded to Thales UK Ltd. This procurement falls under the technical support services category and is located in Bristol, UK. The contract has a total value of £8,430,521 and spans a duration of four years, providing ongoing support for the GMSS hardware and software, particularly in relation to the Chinook aircraft. The procurement method used was a limited procedure, awarded without prior publication of a call for competition, as it was necessary to protect exclusive rights associated with the supplier's technical capabilities and intellectual property.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses focusing on technical support and system services, particularly those with expertise in military technology and aviation support. Companies that specialise in hardware and software support services, especially those that can provide training or resolve obsolescence issues, would be well-positioned to compete for similar contracts in the future. Given the exclusivity of this contract to Thales UK Ltd, understanding this procurement's market dynamics can help potential suppliers identify niches within the defence sector that they can target for growth.

Find more tenders on our Open Data Platform.
How relevant is this notice?

D3 Tenders Premium

Win More Public Sector Contracts

AI-powered tender discovery, pipeline management, and market intelligence — everything you need to grow your public sector business.

Notice Title

CHC/628 (700217320) Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) Support Contract

Notice Description

The Authority has placed a contract with Thales UK Ltd with a duration of 4 years for the ongoing support of the extant GMSS hardware and software, including laptops and servers. Thales UK Ltd will further provide under the terms of the contract technical support and support management services in relation to the GMSS.

Lot Information

Lot 1

In-service support services for the hardware and software for the Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) on the Chinook aircraft.

Options: The Contract includes Options for recommendations to resolve an obsolescence issue and training courses to front line users. The Contract includes a Post Design Service tasking mechanism.

Procurement Information

As per previous Voluntary Transparency Notice (prior to contract award), the justification for the non-competitive decision was as follows: "It is considered that this contract can be placed using the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice pursuant to Article 28(1)(e) of Directive 2009/81/EC and Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contract Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/No.1848) on the basis that for reasons connected with the protection of exclusive rights the contract may be awarded only to Thales UK Ltd. Thales UK Ltd is the original equipment manufacturer and design authority of the GMSS and alone holds all relevant technical rights (including rights in the system's source code), data and information (including in relation to the Chinook Mission Avionics System, with which the GMSS must be interoperable) required for the performance of services under the contract. There is no available and lawful equivalent right that another economic operator could offer, which could support the contract services: Thales UK Ltd has not licensed its rights' exploitation to any other economic operator nor does the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence have a licence to use such exclusive rights which would enable it to procure the subject matter of the contract from another supplier. Accordingly, a third party would be unable to carry out the essential support activities required (such as software upgrades and modifications) under the contract."

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-030501
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/032138-2021
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

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

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation

35 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support


CPV Codes

34711500 - Helicopters

35612400 - Military transport helicopters

71356300 - Technical support services

72250000 - System and support services

72253000 - Helpdesk and support services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£8,430,521 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
22 Dec 20214 years ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
9 Dec 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
Not specified
Contact Email
hayley.shortall101@mod.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
BRISTOL
Postcode
N/A
Post Town
Not specified
Country
Not specified

Major Region (ITL 1)
Not specified
Basic Region (ITL 2)
Not specified
Small Region (ITL 3)
Not specified
Delivery Location
TLK1 Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area

Local Authority
Not specified
Electoral Ward
Not specified
Westminster Constituency
Not specified

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

THALES

Further Information

Notice URLs

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

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.

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-030501-2021-12-22T22:45:02Z",
    "date": "2021-12-22T22:45:02Z",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-030501",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "tender": {
        "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-030501",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "32014L0024",
            "scheme": "CELEX"
        },
        "title": "CHC/628 (700217320) Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) Support Contract",
        "status": "complete",
        "classification": {
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "id": "71356300",
            "description": "Technical support services"
        },
        "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
        "description": "The Authority has placed a contract with Thales UK Ltd with a duration of 4 years for the ongoing support of the extant GMSS hardware and software, including laptops and servers. Thales UK Ltd will further provide under the terms of the contract technical support and support management services in relation to the GMSS.",
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "description": "In-service support services for the hardware and software for the Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) on the Chinook aircraft.",
                "awardCriteria": {
                    "criteria": [
                        {
                            "type": "price"
                        }
                    ]
                },
                "hasOptions": true,
                "options": {
                    "description": "The Contract includes Options for recommendations to resolve an obsolescence issue and training courses to front line users. The Contract includes a Post Design Service tasking mechanism."
                },
                "status": "cancelled"
            }
        ],
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "additionalClassifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "34711500",
                        "description": "Helicopters"
                    },
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "35612400",
                        "description": "Military transport helicopters"
                    },
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "71356300",
                        "description": "Technical support services"
                    },
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "72250000",
                        "description": "System and support services"
                    },
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "72253000",
                        "description": "Helpdesk and support services"
                    }
                ],
                "deliveryAddresses": [
                    {
                        "region": "UKK1"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ],
        "procurementMethod": "limited",
        "procurementMethodDetails": "Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition",
        "procurementMethodRationaleClassifications": [
            {
                "scheme": "TED_PT_AWARD_CONTRACT_WITHOUT_CALL",
                "id": "D_PROTECT_RIGHTS",
                "description": "The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights"
            }
        ],
        "procurementMethodRationale": "As per previous Voluntary Transparency Notice (prior to contract award), the justification for the non-competitive decision was as follows: \"It is considered that this contract can be placed using the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice pursuant to Article 28(1)(e) of Directive 2009/81/EC and Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contract Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/No.1848) on the basis that for reasons connected with the protection of exclusive rights the contract may be awarded only to Thales UK Ltd. Thales UK Ltd is the original equipment manufacturer and design authority of the GMSS and alone holds all relevant technical rights (including rights in the system's source code), data and information (including in relation to the Chinook Mission Avionics System, with which the GMSS must be interoperable) required for the performance of services under the contract. There is no available and lawful equivalent right that another economic operator could offer, which could support the contract services: Thales UK Ltd has not licensed its rights' exploitation to any other economic operator nor does the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence have a licence to use such exclusive rights which would enable it to procure the subject matter of the contract from another supplier. Accordingly, a third party would be unable to carry out the essential support activities required (such as software upgrades and modifications) under the contract.\""
    },
    "awards": [
        {
            "id": "032138-2021-CHC/628 700217320 Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) Support Contract-1",
            "relatedLots": [
                "1"
            ],
            "status": "active",
            "suppliers": [
                {
                    "id": "GB-FTS-38834",
                    "name": "Thales UK Limited"
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-FTS-5483",
            "name": "Ministry of Defence",
            "identifier": {
                "legalName": "Ministry of Defence"
            },
            "address": {
                "locality": "Bristol",
                "region": "UKK1",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "hayley.shortall101@mod.gov.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer",
                "reviewBody"
            ],
            "details": {
                "url": "https://des.mod.uk/",
                "classifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "TED_CA_TYPE",
                        "id": "MINISTRY",
                        "description": "Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions"
                    },
                    {
                        "scheme": "COFOG",
                        "id": "02",
                        "description": "Defence"
                    }
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "id": "GB-FTS-38834",
            "name": "Thales UK Limited",
            "identifier": {
                "legalName": "Thales UK Limited"
            },
            "address": {
                "locality": "Crawley",
                "region": "UKJ27",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom"
            },
            "roles": [
                "supplier"
            ],
            "details": {
                "scale": "large"
            }
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-FTS-5483",
        "name": "Ministry of Defence"
    },
    "contracts": [
        {
            "id": "032138-2021-CHC/628 700217320 Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) Support Contract-1",
            "awardID": "032138-2021-CHC/628 700217320 Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) Support Contract-1",
            "status": "active",
            "value": {
                "amount": 8430521,
                "currency": "GBP"
            },
            "dateSigned": "2021-12-09T00:00:00Z"
        }
    ],
    "bids": {
        "statistics": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "measure": "bids",
                "relatedLot": "1",
                "value": 1
            }
        ]
    },
    "language": "en"
}