In Service Support of Controlled Reception Positioning Antenna (CRPA), Precise Fixing System (PFS), NAVFIX and Outfit FSF also known as Precise Time and Frequency Equipment (PTFE)

The C2TNC delivery team, part of the Ministry of Defence (the “Authority”) intends to enter into a contract with Drumgrange Ltd (the “Company”) for in-service support for Controlled Reception Position Antenna (CRPA), Precise Fixing System (PFS), NAVFIX System and Outfit FSF (also known as Precise Time and Frequency Equipment (PTFE)). The CRPA, PFS, PTFE and NAVFIX systems are fitted to Royal Naval (RN) and Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) platforms.

The length of the new contract will be ten years. The approximate value of the contract is estimated £20m excluding VAT.

In accordance with Section 41(1)(a) of the Procurement Act 2023 (the “Act”), the Authority intends to rely on the Single Supplier direct award justification, as set out in Paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 of the Act, to award a public contract directly to the Company, a supplier that is not an excluded supplier. The CRPA, PFS, PTFE and NAVFIX systems are critical for RN platform navigation and deployment and any failure or degradation of these systems will place significant risk on the RN’s ability to fulfil the Authority’s required defence outcomes.

The Company’s technical expertise, technical data and manufacturing expertise is necessary to ensure that the systems remain fully operational and to deliver changes to the system’s equipment in line with Navy Command requirements. The Company is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the individual NAVFIX, PTFE, and PFS systems.

The CRPA, PFS, PTFE and NAVFIX systems have a significant degree of integration to ensure the overall operability of RN platforms. This configuration control provides system assurance, which is necessary for the systems to function on RN platforms.

The Company is therefore the only operator with the technical information to (i) ensure these individual systems operate to their individual required standards and (ii) integrate these systems to achieve the level of operability required by RN platforms. As such, only the Company has the necessary technical information to be able to perform this requirement and to achieve delivery of this support requirement on all RN platforms within scope.

Accordingly, due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, the Company is considered as the only supplier that can provide the services and there are no reasonable alternatives to those services as required by the Authority. The contract will not be awarded to an excluded or excludable supplier, a Contract Award Notice and Contract Details Notice will follow in accordance with Procurement Act 2023.