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2. Annex D3

The Platform Equipment Delivery Team (PEDT), part of the UK Ministry of Defence (the “Authority”), intends to enter into a contract (the “Contract”) with Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine B.V (NGSM) (the “Contractor”) to take effect on and from 1st December 2021 for a period of 3 years plus an option to extend the contract for 1 year for the provision of in-service support of the Astute Class Platform Complex Systems Batch 2 Platform Management System (PMS), and equipment, providing technical support, waterfront support and PDS in support of the Authority, ensuring that availability is maintained and obsolescence and reliability issues are addressed. The system provides critical safety and operational functions in support of the Authority’s Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) capabilities. The Contract has a value (ex VAT) of approx. £10,000,000 (Ten million pounds sterling). It is considered that the Contract can be entered into 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 Contracts Regulations 2011 on the basis that the Contract may be awarded only to the Contractor for technical reasons. The Contractor is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Design Authority (DA) for, and holder of all relevant proprietary information in, the A-Class Platform Complex Systems Batch 2 PMS. The PMS is a complex piece of equipment, which requires a carefully considered strategic approach to its through life support to maintain continuity, reduce operational risk and maintain capability. The Contractor as the OEM and DA, have the ability to ensure that all platforms with the Contractor’s PMS’s on board are continually upgraded to the latest software and is supported. The Contractor, as the only manufacturer and supplier of the A-Class Platform Complex systems Batch 2 PMS, is the only economic operator with the specific technical knowledge and experience of the A-Class PMS system to be able to support and update such equipment, avoiding safety and availability risk issues. PMS provides critical safety and operational functions to the ASTUTE Class. PMS is integral to delivering key platform capability, with several safety critical systems, namely Nuclear Steam Raising Plant (NSRP), steering, diving and platform systems, having a direct dependency on the continued operation of PMS. The loss of the system will have a direct impact on Platform safety. The associated software is also at Safety Integrity Level (SIL2) due to the role it provides on-board and only the Contractor, as OEM and DA, has the tools, knowledge and experience to immediately respond to a software issue, and deliver an updated product that achieves all of the safety requirements without impacting Platform availability.