UCL Submarine Design and Acquisition Course

Concepts

• bristol
• special education
• submarines
• submarines procurement
• ucl submarine design and acquisition course
• design
• course
• acquisition
• submarine
• ucl

Location

Bristol

Description

Procurement of the SDAC Contract, which will seek to procure niche Naval Architecture tuition regarding the construction and maintenance of submarines

Total Quantity or Scope

Procurement of the SDAC Contract, which will seek to procure niche Naval Architecture tuition regarding the construction and maintenance of submarines. This will be a two year Contract with upto 10 students per year.

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 80340000 - Special education services

Indicators

Legal Justification

See section v1.3

Other Information

The Submarines Delivery Agency (SDA), acting as agent for the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD), intends to award a single source contract for a period of 24 months to University College London (UCL) for the provision of a Submarines Delivery Acquisition Course (SDAC). The UCL Submarine Design Course introduces SDA Naval Architects and Marine Engineers to the basic elements governing the design and acquisition of submarines and underwater craft. Starting from a consideration of the operating requirements, it provides an approach to developing conceptual solutions, establishing the feasibility, and delivering preliminary design detail. The course shows how the various mobility elements of the vehicle, speed, endurance, diving depth and control interact, and how the demands of the equipment required to perform a vessel’s operational function can govern the choice of vehicle and its configuration. The continued delivery of this SDAC training is essential to support the development of Suitably Qualified Experienced Personnel (SQEP) within SDA who sit within the scarce technical discipline of Naval Architecture. These skills and experience are needed to maintain SDA support to the Continuous at Sea Deterrent (CASD A 24-month contract with UCL for the delivery of this important SDAC Training Course, will develop and maintain SDA Naval Architecture SQEP, whilst also allowing the SDA to review the Training Provider delivery platforms for SDAC from October 2026 onwards. UCL are the only UK supplier of the SDAC, and they are the only current Training Provider with the technical knowledge, experience, course material, and technical documentation to deliver the SDAC. The SDAC as a product, has been developed over many years (since 1967) and uses a combination of MOD, UCL and Industry experts for its delivery. It should be noted that even though MOD staff (DE&S and SDA) are involved with the delivery of the SDAC, MOD IPR of the SDAC course material has never been established.