--- title: "Underwater Mobile Acoustic Targets - Contract Award Notoce" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-09081a8d-5ad4-41ae-861a-73352967c48c" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-09081a8d-5ad4-41ae-861a-73352967c48c" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-09081a8d-5ad4-41ae-861a-73352967c48c.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-09081a8d-5ad4-41ae-861a-73352967c48c.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Award" buyer: "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE" published: "2025-01-14" --- # Underwater Mobile Acoustic Targets - Contract Award Notoce Buyer: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE Current stage: Award OCID: ocds-b5fd17-09081a8d-5ad4-41ae-861a-73352967c48c [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-09081a8d-5ad4-41ae-861a-73352967c48c) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-09081a8d-5ad4-41ae-861a-73352967c48c.json) ## Summary The Ministry of Defence has awarded a contract titled "Underwater Mobile Acoustic Targets - Contract Award Notice" to QinetiQ Limited. This falls under the industry category of unmanned underwater vehicles and involves locations such as the British Overseas Territories, Channel Islands, Europe, Isle of Man, Rest of the World, and the United Kingdom. The procurement stage is complete, with contract details being finalised on 14th January 2025. The contract period is from 2nd December 2024 to 30th November 2029, with an associated value of GBP 12,300,000. The procurement method used was a single tender action below the threshold, pursuant to defence and security public contract regulations. This tender presents significant business growth opportunities for companies with expertise in underwater vehicle technology, particularly those capable of meeting stringent defence and security requirements. Despite being a direct procurement process, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could benefit from subcontracting opportunities under QinetiQ Limited due to their role in the UMAT programme upgrade. This contract specifically seeks businesses with specialised licensing and technical capabilities, making it ideal for firms with existing credentials in defence-related technological advancements. ## Notice Contract Award Notice for Contract 706857450 - Underwater Mobile Acoustic Targets. This is to state that the contract has been awarded to QinetiQ Limited following a successful and compliant bid. The Secretary of State for Defence intends to enter into a contract with QinetiQ Limited for the UMAT programme. In accordance with regulation 4 of the Defence and Security Public Contracts (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/697) this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracs Regulations 2011 as amended (in particular by SI 2019/697 and SI 2020/1450) ("DSPCR 2011"). 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 (as required by the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(d)(i)(aa) of the DSPCR 2011 because the incumbent subcontractor undertaking the mandated upgrade programme of the UMAT is the only economic operator with the approved licencing and technical capability to upgrade the existing UMAT to maintain the Spearfish Firing Certification. This subcontractor will only maintain a contracting relationship with the current prime. Any change of contractor would require a full reset and restart of the upgrade programme, which would create a significant capability gap of up to 24 months, as any new contractor/subcontractor would require design approval for any suggest upgrades, in addition to ITAR certification from the United States Department of Defence. As the upgrade requirement was an unknown requirement prior to the award of the current incumbent contract, this work was, through unforeseen circumstances, become necessary to fulfil a strategic capability and cannot for technical or economic reasons be carried out separately from the original contract without major inconvenience to the contracting authority or the Royal Navy. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/7cca96ce-b832-494e-b1b6-68d5e4ca2ea4 | | Notice type | Award Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Direct | | Procurement method details | Single tender action (below threshold) | | Tender suitability | SME | | Awardee scale | Large | | All stages | Award | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 14 Jan 2025 | | Submission deadline | 30 Nov 2024 | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | 2 Dec 2024 | | Contract period | 2 Dec 2024 - 30 Nov 2029 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £12,300,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | £12,300,000 | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Complete | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Active | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | MINISTRY OF DEFENCE | | Locality | BRISTOL | | Post town | Bristol | | Postcode | BS34 8JH | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) | | ITL 2 | TLK5 West of England | | ITL 3 | TLK52 Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire | | Local authority | South Gloucestershire | | Electoral ward | Stoke Park & Cheswick | | Westminster constituency | Filton and Bradley Stoke | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## Supplier | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Number of suppliers | 1 | | Supplier names | QINETIQ | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 35 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment ### Codes - 35512400 - Unmanned underwater vehicles ## Release History - 14 Jan 2025 at 12:51 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/7cca96ce-b832-494e-b1b6-68d5e4ca2ea4 ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/7cca96ce-b832-494e-b1b6-68d5e4ca2ea4 14th January 2025 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-09081a8d-5ad4-41ae-861a-73352967c48c. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-09081a8d-5ad4-41ae-861a-73352967c48c.json.