---
title: "CHC/628 (700217320) Ground Mission Support System (GMSS) Support Contract"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-030501"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-030501"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-030501.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-030501.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE"
published: "2021-12-22"
---

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

Buyer: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-030501

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## Summary

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.

## Notice

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."

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/032138-2021 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 22 Dec 2021 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 9 Dec 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 | £8,430,521 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | MINISTRY OF DEFENCE |
| Locality | BRISTOL |
| Post town | Not specified |
| Postcode | N/A |
| Country | Not specified |
| ITL 1 | Not specified |
| ITL 2 | Not specified |
| ITL 3 | Not specified |
| Local authority | Not specified |
| Electoral ward | Not specified |
| Westminster constituency | Not specified |
| Delivery location | TLK1 Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area |

## Supplier

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

## CPV Codes

### 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

### Codes

- 34711500 - Helicopters
- 35612400 - Military transport helicopters
- 71356300 - Technical support services
- 72250000 - System and support services
- 72253000 - Helpdesk and support services

## Release History

- 22 Dec 2021 at 22:45 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/032138-2021

## 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-030501. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-030501.json.