Award

Floats and Gliders

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

26 Mar 2025 at 21:38

Award

20 Feb 2025 at 15:28

Summary of the contracting process

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has completed a procurement process for the purchase of unmanned underwater vehicles classified under CPV 35512400. This specific tender, entitled "Floats and Gliders," falls within the goods category and involves the procurement of 40 disposable autonomous commercial profiling floats from Teledyne Webb Research, a Business Unit of Teledyne Instruments, Inc. The contract, valued at £1,110,000 excluding VAT, is intended to enhance oceanographic data collection vital for the Royal Navy's Theatre Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capabilities. The procurement stages involved a limited method due to technical reasons, ensuring compatibility with existing assets, and the contract was awarded on 28th February 2025. The project supports the Royal Navy's objective of building Oceanographic Intelligence to sustain and enhance their operational effectiveness globally.

This procurement bears significant potential for businesses specializing in oceanographic instruments and commercial profiling floats. Companies with expertise in manufacturing underwater vehicles and related technology that support national defence objectives could find lucrative opportunities in such tenders. The involvement of the Ministry of Defence and the specifics of the procurement method highlight the importance of technical expertise and existing infrastructure compatibility. Businesses capable of meeting these stringent requirements, particularly those with existing relationships or complementary technologies, stand to benefit significantly from contracts aimed at supporting high-stakes, operationally critical objectives within the defence sector.

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Notice Title

Floats and Gliders

Notice Description

Project HECLA has previously procured a stockpile (x125) of disposable oceanographic profiling floats (OPFs) known as the APEX Argo profiling floats and routinely deploys them in support of oceanographic COLLECT. These OPF enables COMOPS to SUSTAIN, ENHANCE, PREPARE and UNDERSTAND the ocean environment globally to build the Oceanographic Intelligence and best deliver assets to effect Theatre Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) in the most critical areas. The requirement to collect Oceanographic data is enduring.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Project HECLA has previously procured a stockpile (x125) of disposable oceanographic profiling floats (OPFs) known as the APEX Argo profiling floats and routinely deploys them in support of oceanographic COLLECT. These OPF enables COMOPS to SUSTAIN, ENHANCE, PREPARE and UNDERSTAND the ocean environment globally to build the Oceanographic Intelligence and best deliver assets to effect Theatre Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) in the most critical areas. The requirement to collect Oceanographic data is enduring.

Options: Additional purchases

Procurement Information

The Royal Navy, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a 2 year contract with a value of PS1,110,000 Ex VAT to Teledyne Webb Research for the purchase of 40 disposable autonomous commercial profiling floats to the Royal Navy. In accordance with the provisions of The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 SI No. 2020/1319, this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) as amended (in particular by SI 2020/1319). 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 32(5)(b) of the PCR 2015 because competition is absent for technical reasons. This is because Royal Navy needs to be able to arrange for additional deliveries by the original supplier which are intended either as a partial replacement of supplies or installations or as the extension of existing supplies or installations where a change of supplier would oblige the contracting authority to acquire supplies having different technical characteristics which would result in incompatibility or disproportionate technical difficulties in operation and maintenance. A contract with a different supplier would result in incompatibility with currently owned RN assets with resulting unacceptable differences in terms of data and maintenance as well as with US assets whose operational goals require shared data and usage. This would have an unacceptable impact on Geospatial Intelligence sharing with the US. The current systems have a proved accredited data path which enables support to current and future operations and this can only be met by Teledyne Webb Research as no alternative or substitutes can be used for interoperability reasons.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04e545
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011425-2025
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

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)


CPV Codes

35512400 - Unmanned underwater vehicles

38290000 - Surveying, hydrographic, oceanographic and hydrological instruments and appliances

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£1,110,000 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
26 Mar 202511 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
20 Feb 20251 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
lynne.nazer100@mod.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
PORTSMOUTH
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
Not specified

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

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
2
Supplier Names

TELEDYNE INSTRUMENTS, INC. TRADING AS TELEDYNE WEBB RESEARCH

TELEDYNE WEBB RESEARCH, A BUSINESS UNIT OF TELEDYNE INSTRUMENTS

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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