The Provision of Spares and Post Design Service for Headsets Contract Amendment

The DE&S Deca Delivery Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to place (by amending contract 708493450) a contractual requirement (“the Contract”) with Invisio Communications Limited (formerly Racal Acoustics Ltd) for The Provision of Spares and Post Design Service for Headsets. The estimated value of the requirement being placed is circa £739,000 VAT inc, for a duration of 12 months.

It is considered that the award of the Contract as a Direct Award is lawful in accordance paragraph 20 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023 on grounds that it is a defence authority contract, a defence and security contract not solely by virtue of s7(1)(g) of the Procurement Act and it is necessary to award the contract directly in order to enhance or maintain the operational capability, effectiveness, readiness for action, safety or security of the armed forces. The Army Inspector’s completed an urgent review into Noise Governance and Assurance resulting in The British Army initiating a Hearing Protection and Communications Situational Awareness project to provide an enduring solution to Close Combat Communications and Hearing Protection (CC CHPS) Pan-Defence.

The equipment used by (Armoured Fighting Vehicle) AFV crews having the Commanders Pressel unit was modified to accept a second in-ear communications hearing device, the Racal RA7500 Communications Ear Piece (CEP) which upgrades the existing system to a dual layer capability. The Contract needs to be placed as a matter of urgency to ensure the continued safety and operational capability of the armed forces. Invisio Communications Ltd is the only Design organisation and Original Equipment Manufacturer for the RA7500 CEP range of spares in the UK and they are the only contractor with access to the relevant designs.