FNHUK Combined Support Services Contract

A Contract Award Notice
by MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Source: Find a Tender
Type: Framework (Services)
Duration: not specified
Value: £2M

Sector: DEFENCE
Published: 31 Jan 2022
Delivery: not specified
Deadline: n/a

Concepts

Location

Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath Area:

Geochart for 1 buyers and 1 suppliers

1 buyer

MOD Bristol

1 supplier

FNH Kent

Description

The Authority intends to award a contract to FNH UK Ltd for the provision of combined support, supply and repair services in respect of the UK Armed Forces Commands in-service fleet of machine guns that comprise of: Heavy Machine Gun (HMG), Light Machine Gun (LMG) variants, General Purpose Machine Gun Mount, PAC24 General Purpose Machine Gun Mount, and the 81mm Mortar ancillaries. The contract will be for a 5-year period and will include the provision of a technical support service and will enable the procurement of additional in-service weapons, if required.

Total Quantity or Scope

This contract will provide a combination of support, supply and repair services for the in-service fleet of machine guns that comprise of: Heavy Machine Gun (HMG), Light Machine Gun (LMG) variants, General Purpose Machine Gun Mount, PAC24 General Purpose Machine Gun Mount, and the 81mm Mortar ancillaries, that will ensure the UK Armed Forces Commands can meet their enduring and future capability needs. This contract will include the provision of a technical support service and enable the procurement of additional in-service weapons, if required.

Award Detail

1	FNH (Kent) FNHUK Combined Support Services Contract Reference: 002743-2022-702630462-1 Value: £1,500,000

Renewal Options

Options will be available on the contract to procure additional in-service weapons and/or ancillaries. There will not be an option available to extend the term of the contract.

Award Criteria

Lowest price

CPV Codes

50620000 - Repair and maintenance services of firearms and ammunition
35321300 - Machine guns

Indicators

Options are available.

Legal Justification

The Dismounted Close Combat programme team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to place a 5-year contract with FNH UK Ltd for the Combined Support, Supply and Repair of the in-service fleet of machine guns that comprise of: Heavy Machine Gun (HMG), Light Machine Gun (LMG) variants, General Purpose Machine Gun Mount, PAC24 General Purpose Machine Gun Mount, and the 81mm Mortar ancillaries, that includes a technical support service and the provision to procure additional in-service weapons, if required. 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 is lawful in accordance with Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 for Technical Reasons. This is because FNH UK Ltd are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Design Authority (DA) and are the only economic entity with access to the necessary technical information, knowledge and expertise, for the machine guns and ancillaries comprised in this contract. FNH UK Ltd are the only economic entity with the capability and access necessary to provide the required technical support to ensure it complies with the Authority’s specification, maintains the operational performance and effectiveness of the weapon systems, and ability to underwrite the integrity of any possible modifications to the weapons systems as a result of a potential safety investigation. As part of the Contract, should the Authority wish to procure additional equipment comprised under this single-source framework enabling arrangement during the contract term, FNH UK Ltd is the only supplier able to supply the current in-service weapons. A change of supplier would oblige the Authority to acquire different weapons with different technical characteristics that would affect the interoperability of the equipment. Having users that were trained and operating similar weapons with different characteristics would lead to an unacceptable level of safety risk with the operational performance of the weapons, even if additional configuration control measures, training measures, supplementary technical documentation and user manuals were in place.