United Kingdom-Salisbury: Prototype Unmanned Ground Vehicles

Type of document: Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Country: United Kingdom
OJEU Ref: (2019/S 187-456285/EN)
Nature of contract: Supply contract
Procedure: Negotiated without a call for competition
Regulation of procurement: EU
Type of bid required: Not applicable

Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Supplies

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: Ministry of Defence, DSTL, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL)
Postal address: Room G-02, Building 5, Porton Down
Town: Salisbury
Postal code: SP4 0JQ
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 1980954132
Email: caflynn@dstl.gov.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address: www.contracts.mod.uk

I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions
I.5) Main activity
Defence

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title: Prototype Unmanned Ground Vehicles
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 73410000
II.1.3) Type of contract Supplies
II.1.4) Short Description:
Dstl, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award 2 contracts to QinetiQ and Horiba MIRA respectively (the ‘Contractors’), in each case for the provision of a limited quantity of up to 3 technology demonstrator prototype Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) and autonomy software test rigs, in relation to, and in advance of, project Theseus, which is part of the army’s transformation fund programme.
II.1.6) Information about lots
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement(excluding VAT)
Value:3750000
Currency:GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
Main CPV code: 73423000
Main CPV code: 73433000

II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code: UK Main site or place of performance:UNITED KINGDOM.

II.2.4) Description of the procurement
DSTL, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award 2 contracts to QinetiQ and Horiba MIRA respectively (the ‘Contractors’), in each case for the provision of a limited quantity of up to 3 technology demonstrator prototype Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) and autonomy software test rigs, in relation to, and in advance of, project Theseus, which is part of the army’s transformation fund programme.
The contracts will provide:
1) Provision of up to quantity 3 unmanned ground vehicles equipped with autonomous navigation systems and logistics C2 system to the design specification demonstrated at the end of ALMRS phase 2;
2) Provision of associated ancillary equipment to enable operation of the platform;
3) Provision of technical documentation;
4) Provision of associated software;
5) Operator/maintenance training;
6) Provision of technical support on an as required basis.

II.2.5) Award criteria
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:yes
Description of options:
Option 1: The procurement of a laboratory test test-rig in place of, or as well as a vehicle if funding permits;
Option 2: Provision of a 2-month warranty from date of delivery.

II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice(in accordance with Article 28 of Directive 2009/81/EU)
IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement(GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: no
IV.2) Administrative information

Section V: Award of contract/concession
V.2) Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:2019-09-20
V.2.2) Information about tenders
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Official name: Horiba Mira Ltd
Postal address: Watling Street
Town: Nuneaton
Postal code: CV10 0TU
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 2476355492
Email: robert.mohacsi@horiba-mira.com
Nuts code: UKG13
The contractor is an SME: no
Official name: QinetiQ Ltd
Postal address: Cody Technology Park, Ively Road
Town: Farnborough
Postal code: GU14 0LX
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 2392312763
Email: kjmallon@qinetiq.com
Nuts code: UKJ3
The contractor is an SME: no

V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession(excluding VAT)
for framework agreements – total maximum value for this lot
for contracts based on framework agreements, if required – value of contract(s) for this lot not included in
previous contract award notices

Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information:
The authority reserves the right to amend any condition related to security of information to reflect any changes in national law or government policy. If any contract documents are accompanied by instructions on safeguarding classified information, the Authority reserves the right to amend the terms of these instructions to reflect any changes in national law or government policy, whether in respect of the applicable protective marking scheme, specific protective markings given, the aspects to which any protective marking applies, or otherwise. The link below provides information on the Government Security Classification.

Advertising Regime OJEU: this contract opportunity is published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), the MoD Defence Contracts Bulletin and www.contracts.mod.uk
Any values stated in this notice are provisional and a contract has yet to be awarded. Go reference: GO-2019925-DCB-15402314
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Official name: Ministry of Defence, DSTL, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL)
Postal address: Room G-02, Building 5, Porton Down
Town: Salisbury
Postal code: SP4 0JQ
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 1980954132
E-mail: caflynn@dstl.gov.uk

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
2019-09-25

Justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for
competition in the Official Journal of the European Union
1.Justification for the choice of the negotiated procedure without publication of a call for competition in accordance with
Article 28 of Directive 2009/81/EU

The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment,study or development under the conditions
stated in the directive(for services and supplies only)

3.Explanation
Please explain in a clear and comprehensive manner why the award of the contract without prior publication in the Official Journal of the European Union
is lawful, by stating the relevant facts and, as appropriate, the conclusions of law in accordance with the directive:
Dstl, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award 2 contracts to QinetiQ and Horiba MIRA respectively (the ‘Contractors’), in each case for the provision of a limited quantity of up to 3 technology demonstrator prototype unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and autonomy software test rigs, in relation to, and in advance of, project Theseus, which is part of the army’s transformation fund programme. The contracts are estimated to have a combined total value of up to 3 750 000 GBP.
It is considered that this contract can be placed using the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice pursuant to Article 28(2)(b) of Directive 2009/81/EC (Regulation 16(1)(c) of the UK Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011) under Research and Development (R&D) grounds. These grounds are namely due to the fact that the authority is seeking to purchase goods the manufacture of which is solely for the purpose of research and development and not with a view to quantity production to establish commercial viability or recovering R&D costs. The manufacture of these items equates to technology readiness level 6.
The technology demonstrator prototypes have been developed as part of MOD’s autonomous last mile resupply (ALMRS) Phases 1 and 2, run through DASA open competitions and has been proven, through recent trials to have the breadth of autonomy capability necessary to facilitate MOD multidisciplinary R&D experimentation starting no later than April 2020. To undertake this planned experimentation, MOD requires a mixture of wheeled and tracked UGVs, capable of delivering payloads greater than 250 kg with autonomy software and sensors for navigation, obstacle avoidance, route planning, mission management and an integrated resupply demand management capability. In addition, MOD also requires a separate autonomy software rig to conduct further off-vehicle testing.
MOD intends to competitively tender for a larger number of mature systems for soldier experimentation under project Theseus in the financial year 2020-2021.The intent is for this and the R&D herein is to inform requirements for a large-scale, future-capability, acquisition activity in the autonomous logistics resupply space.