---
title: "Support and Maintenance of GOTHIC APS and MCPS-UK5"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-060288"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-060288"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-060288.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-060288.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE"
published: "2026-02-04"
---

# Support and Maintenance of GOTHIC APS and MCPS-UK5

Buyer: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-060288

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## Summary

The Ministry of Defence, located in Shrivenham, United Kingdom, has recently completed the direct awarding of a contract for the support and maintenance of the GOTHIC Aeronautical Production System (APS) and the Mercator Cartographic Productions System (MCPS). The procurement process, which reached the award stage on 4th February 2026, involves ongoing software licensing, maintenance, and repair services essential for the operation and enhancement of bespoke software used by the National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence. 1Spatial Group Limited, a supplier with significant expertise and ownership of relevant intellectual property rights, will provide these services. The contract will commence on 1st April 2026 and run until 19th September 2028, with options for extensions up to 2030, thereby ensuring continuity in aeronautical information provision. The procurement falls under the industry category of software support services and system support services, with the contract valued at £2,611,397.00, grossing £3,133,676.40 in total, aligned with the Procurement Act 2023.

This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses specialising in software maintenance and support services, particularly those with capabilities in bespoke systems integration and aeronautical information. Businesses that focus on developing, maintaining, and enhancing complex software systems will find an opportunity to align their offerings with critical defence operations. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a strategic interest in expanding their portfolio to include high-level governmental contracts stand to gain a competitive edge by engaging in similar future projects, especially if they can demonstrate proprietary expertise and innovative solutions in software engineering tailored to fit existing military and defence systems.

## Notice

The requirement is for provision of ongoing software licencing, software maintenance and repair services, and will provide support and maintenance for the bespoke software and applications that make up the GOTHIC Aeronautical Production and Mercator Cartographic Productions System (MCPS). 1Spatial will provide a support service billed on a quarterly basis, performing maintenance of the respective systems and its code base. The contractor will be required to undertake ongoing modifications and upgrades to the Gothic APS and MCPS code. On site engineering support may be required on a call-off basis against appropriate day rates, and will include training (development and delivery) and software enhancements if required. The procurement covers a support desk service for logging and managing service requests for assistance with the licensed software and to resolve faults, and is to include support in resolving suspected defects and application support.

### Procurement Information

The GOTHIC Aeronautical Production System (GOTHIC APS) provides No1 Aeronautical Information Documents Unit (No 1 AIDU), a unit within the National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence with its primary aeronautical information (AI) maintenance and production software capability. In addition, further support is provided through Mercator Cartographic Production System (MCPS). Both capabilities are currently provided under software support and maintenance contracts with 1 Spatial Group Ltd. No1 AIDU is mandated by the Secretary of State for Defence to provide AI, data and publications to Defence and is critical in providing flight management systems data for all its aircraft platforms and mission planning systems on a legally mandated, worldwide 28-day Aeronautical Information Regulation and Control (AIRAC cycle). In accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 Schedule 5 paragraph 7: the contract concerns the supply of services by 1 Spatial Group Ltd which are intended as an extension to existing services. In the circumstances, (a) 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 (b) the difference or incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation or maintenance. A supplier other than 1 Spatial Group Ltd would not be able to supply software licencing, software maintenance and repair services and support in respect of GOTHIC APS and MCPS. This is due to 1 Spatial Group Ltd's (i) ownership of intellectual property rights in the source code underpinning GOTHIC APS and MCPS, and (ii) unique experience of GOTHIC APS and MCPS . GOTHIC APS and MCPS comprise bespoke software developed for ongoing compatibility with No 1 AIDU systems to support the AIRAC cycle. A change in supplier would necessitate the development by the new supplier of different bespoke software of a kind which does not currently exist in the market. The transition away from GOTHIC APS and MCPS would result in disproportionate integration and technical difficulties for No 1 AIDU.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009850-2026 |
| Notice type | UK5 - Transparency Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Planning, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 4 Feb 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 28 Feb 2026 |
| Award date | 4 Feb 2026 |
| Contract period | 31 Mar 2026 - 19 Sep 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £2,611,397 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £2,611,397 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | MINISTRY OF DEFENCE |
| Locality | SHRIVENHAM |
| Post town | Swindon |
| Postcode | SN6 8LA |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC |
| Local authority | Vale of White Horse |
| Electoral ward | Watchfield & Shrivenham |
| Westminster constituency | Witney |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | 1SPATIAL GROUP |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 72250000 - System and support services
- 72261000 - Software support services

## Release History

- 4 Feb 2026 at 10:58 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009850-2026
- 9 Jan 2026 at 11:01 - Planning - UK1 - Pipeline Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/001745-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009850-2026
  4th February 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/001745-2026
  9th January 2026 - Pipeline notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-060288. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-060288.json.