---
title: "MHC Autonomy Software Integration & Support"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-02e6a6"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-02e6a6"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02e6a6.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02e6a6.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE"
published: "2022-04-05"
---

# MHC Autonomy Software Integration & Support

Buyer: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-02e6a6

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## Summary

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), specifically the Mine Hunting Capability Team, is in the procurement stage of a contract titled "MHC Autonomy Software Integration & Support". This contract falls within the IT services industry, particularly consulting, software development, and support, with delivery to be located in Edinburgh. The procurement method employed is a limited approach, notably negotiated without the publication of a contract notice, which is permitted under specific technical circumstances. The initial contract duration is set for 25 months, with options for two 12-month extensions, and the maximum estimated value is £2 million.

This tender presents significant growth opportunities for SMEs specialising in software development and support services, particularly those with expertise in autonomy technologies and maritime operations. Companies with the capacity to collaborate on or develop software akin to Seebyte’s proprietary products, which serve the Royal Navy’s unmanned underwater vehicles, would be well-positioned to bid for future contracts. Understanding the unique technical requirements and interoperability needs of defence operations will be crucial for potential competitors in this field.

## Notice

The Mine Hunting Capability Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), has awarded a contract to Seebyte Limited for the support and continued development of software based upon Seebyte's suite of software.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Support and continued development of software based upon Seebyte's suite of software.

Options: Options to be included for additional years of contractual cover.

### Procurement Information

The Mine Hunting Capability Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), has awarded a contract to Seebyte Limited for the support and continued development of software based upon Seebyte's suite of proprietary, privately developed software for which Seebyte Limited holds the background IP - namely: NEPTUNE, SeeTrack & CoPilot. This suite of software enables autonomy behaviours for Unmanned Vehicles to work collaboratively and effectively for the purpose of Maritime Mine Countermeasures. Through the three software products listed, the software enables features such as; Low-Level mission planning, Autonomous missions by vehicles and Mine Threat Identification and classification. The contract shall be for an initial period of 25-months, with Options to extend the contract duration by a further two 12-month periods, giving a maximum possible contract duration of 49-months. The maximum total value of the contract is not estimated to exceed PS2m for the entire 49-month period. 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 Contracts Regulations 2011 as amended (in particular by SI 2019/697 and SI 2020/1450). 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 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011 (as amended) for Technical Reasons. This requirement is for the continued support and development of Seebyte's suite of proprietary software which was privately developed by Seebyte. This software is widely used in different applications by the Royal Navy and works collectively and collaboratively to optimise the operation and effectiveness of its autonomous underwater vehicles. This requirement is a direct continuation of the same services previously procured by the MoD under the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory's Science & Technology (S&T) programme. Ensuring contractual cover to facilitate the continuing support and evolutionary development of this software is critical to maintaining the Royal Navy's existing capability. Given the history to the development of this software by Seebyte Limited for the Royal Navy there is no other reasonable alternative software in the market that would meet the MoD's continuing requirements. For operational reasons the Royal Navy systems which incorporates the Seebyte Limited software need to be able to interoperate with similar systems used by UK Allies, all of whom use the Seebyte Limited software. Royal Navy systems with third party software would not meet these requirements and would create significant interoperability issues which would result in a degraded capability. Only Seebyte Limited have the technical knowledge, expertise and underlying source code necessary to meet this continuing support and development requirement. This technical knowledge and expertise has been gained in part through the previous role Seebyte has undertaken in developing the software for the Royal Navy's purposes.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009071-2022 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Negotiated without publication of a contract notice |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 5 Apr 2022 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 29 Sep 2021 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £6,000,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | MINISTRY OF DEFENCE |
| Additional buyers | MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, DE&S, MINE HUNTING CAPABILITY TEAM |
| 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 | TLM Scotland, TLM75 City of Edinburgh |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | SEEBYTE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

## Release History

- 5 Apr 2022 at 10:09 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009071-2022
- 30 Sep 2021 at 21:45 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/024375-2021

## Notice URLs

- https://des.mod.uk

## 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-h6vhtk-02e6a6. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02e6a6.json.