---
title: "CHC/645 Flat Panel Trainer - Contract Award Notice"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0344e1"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0344e1"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0344e1.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0344e1.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE"
published: "2022-06-09"
---

# CHC/645 Flat Panel Trainer - Contract Award Notice

Buyer: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0344e1

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## Summary

The Ministry of Defence has awarded a contract titled "CHC/645 Flat Panel Trainer" to Thales UK Ltd for the provision of repairs, spares, and engineering support for the Chinook Flat Panel Trainer. This procurement falls under the category of repair and maintenance services and is located in the UK. The contract is currently active, with a total value of £658,446 and a term of three years, including two optional years. The award was made under a limited procurement method without prior publication of a call for competition due to specific technical reasons related to the proprietary rights held by Thales.

This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses involved in repair and maintenance services within the defence sector, particularly those that specialise in aerospace technologies and training simulators. However, given that Thales is the original equipment manufacturer and holds exclusive rights and certifications necessary to perform the required services, only suppliers with similar qualifications and expertise, particularly in the military aviation sector, would be well-positioned to compete. This highlights a niche market, ideal for businesses with advanced technical capabilities and relevant certifications in defence procurement.

## Notice

The Secretary of State for Defence (the 'Authority') entered into a contract with Thales UK Ltd ("Thales") for the provision of repairs, spares and engineering support in respect of its existing Chinook Flat Panel Trainer (FPT), enabling its continued use at RAF Benson. The contract term is 3 years with two option years. A contract award notice is also published on Contracts Finder, links as follows: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/44d25571-53a2-418d-ab07-969404224d25

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Provision of repairs, spares and engineering support in respect of its existing Chinook Flat Panel Trainer (FPT). Thales are the original equipment manufacturers and Design Authority of the Digital Cockpit fitted on the UK Chinook aircraft. As such, the In Service support of the Flat Panel Trainer (including the provision of repairs and spares) together with the related Project Management, can only be carried out by Thales as Thales exclusively own the software rights and holds the relevant skills, technical data, proprietary information (including drawing and design information) and know-how that is needed to meet the requirement.

Options: Two optional years are available for the provision of repairs, spares and engineering support.

### Procurement Information

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 due to technical reasons. Thales are the original equipment manufacturers and Design Authority of the Digital Cockpit fitted on the UK Chinook aircraft. As such, the In Service support of the Flat Panel Trainer (including the provision of repairs and spares) together with the related Project Management, can only be carried out by Thales as Thales exclusively own the software rights and holds the relevant skills, technical data, proprietary information (including drawing and design information) and know-how that is needed to meet the requirement. Thales previously confirmed that it is not prepared to share or license the use of that proprietary information outside of the Company and the UK Ministry of Defence does not have a right to obtain the necessary documentation from Thales. The aforementioned skills, technical data, drawing and design information are necessary for the performance of the requirement. Furthermore, only Thales holds the level of certification (under the Authority's Design Approved Organisation (DAOS) and Maintenance Approved Organisation (MAOS) Schemes) necessary to carry out the activities that are required in order to meet the Military Aviation Authority's Regulatory Articles applicable to the Flat Panel Trainer. It is not possible for another company to obtain the relevant level of certification without access to the skills, knowledge and technical information that only Thales hold.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/015932-2022 |
| 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 | 9 Jun 2022 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 18 Apr 2022 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £658,446 |

## 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 | Not specified |

## Supplier

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

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation
- 50 - Repair and maintenance services

### Codes

- 34740000 - Aircraft or spacecraft equipment, trainers, simulators and associated parts
- 50000000 - Repair and maintenance services

## Release History

- 9 Jun 2022 at 17:16 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/015932-2022

## Notice URLs

- https://des.mod.uk/
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/44d25571-53a2-418d-ab07-969404224d25

## 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-0344e1. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0344e1.json.