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CHC/680 Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) Support

Defence Equipment and Support

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

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11 Aug 2026 at 11:42

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Defence Equipment and Support procured support for the Ground Mission Support System (GMSS), the command, control and communications equipment used with the Chinook helicopter force. The requirement covers spares, repairs and technical support for equipment owned by the authority, including equipment for which Thales UK Limited holds design rights. This is a defence and security services requirement, covering command, control and communication systems and helpdesk and support services (CPV 35711000 and 72253000). Delivery and support apply across the United Kingdom. The equipment remains in service and supports Chinook operational readiness, so the requirement concerns maintaining an existing military capability rather than supplying a new standalone system.

The procurement is complete and was awarded through a direct award without prior publication under Regulation 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 and Schedule 5, paragraph 7, because changing supplier could create incompatible equipment and disproportionate technical difficulties. Thales UK Limited was selected. The awarded value is £7,200,000 excluding VAT, or £8,640,000 including VAT. The award date is 11 August 2026. The contract period is 30 November 2026 to 29 November 2029, with two optional one-year extensions at the authority’s discretion, allowing a maximum end date of 29 November 2031. There was one completed lot, covering the full requirement.

This award indicates demand for suppliers able to sustain safety-critical military command, control and communications equipment already integrated with the Chinook platform. A credible competitor for a future requirement would need strong original-equipment or equivalent technical capability in spares, repairs, fault diagnosis, helpdesk provision and ongoing equipment support. Experience of maintaining systems with platform-specific interfaces, design-rights constraints and formal clearance requirements would be important, as would the capacity to protect operational readiness across a national defence environment. The selected supplier was a large defence technology company, and the direct-award rationale places particular weight on compatibility with existing equipment, technical support continuity and avoiding disproportionate difficulties in operation or maintenance.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

CHC/680 Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) Support

Notice Description

Provision of Support to Ground Mission Support System (GMSS).

Procurement Information

The Authority intends to directly award this contract pursuant to Regulation 41 of the Procurement Act 2023, in line with the direct award justifications under Schedule 5. It is considered that this contract can be placed via Direct Award without prior publication under Schedule 5, paragraph 7. Paragraph 7 provides that the Authority may directly award a public contract that concerns the supply of goods, services or works by the existing supplier where they are intended as an extension to, or partial replacement of the goods, services or works where a change in supplier would result in the contracting authority receiving goods, services or works that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing goods, services or works; and the difference or incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation or maintenance. The requirement is for an extension to the existing services through the provision of spares, repairs and technical support of equipment wholly owned, with design rights, by Thales UK Ltd. It is also noted that, a change in supplier or equipment would directly affect the operational readiness of the Chinook force as any new equipment would require clearance due to incompatibility, resulting in disproportionate technical difficulties for the end user. Thales UK Ltd Ground Mission Support System equipment remains in service with Chinook helicopter, and as such this equipment is the only of its kind for this capability that is cleared for Chinook use. Pursuant to Schedule 5, Clause 7, a change of supplier would result in the Authority receiving goods of a different form, and incompatible with both the platform and current equipment.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e11c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/076145-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK5 - Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

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

CPV Codes

35711000 - Command, control, communication systems

72253000 - Helpdesk and support services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£7,200,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
11 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
11 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Contract Period
30 Nov 2026 - 29 Nov 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Defence Equipment and Support
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
Postcode Area
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
Not specified
Local Authority
South Gloucestershire
Electoral Ward
Stoke Park & Cheswick
Westminster Constituency
Filton and Bradley Stoke

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Thales UK Limited

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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