The Royal Navy, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a contract to Ultra Electronics Ltd for the purchase, modification, calibration and testing of 2 off G-ALFEA sonobuoys. The contract will have a term of 9 months. It is considered that this contract can be awarded using the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice pursuant to Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Article 32(2)(b)(ii)) for technical reasons. This is because Ultra Electronics Ltd sonobuoys are required for technical reasons and interoperability, as the existing systems have been provided by Ultras Electronics Ltd. Ultra Electronics Ltd represents the UK on the NATO NIAG SG90 Sonobuoy Digital Telemetry panel. These factors and their understanding of technology arising from the previous R&D contracts associated with the sonobuoy project within the Underwater Systems research programme all factor into the technical and interoperability justification. Ultra Electronics Ltd have also been awarded a contract by DE&S for a through life sonobuoys contract for RN and RAF. While this is a separate requirement with R&D elements, interoperability is key and the sonobuoys tested must be Ultra to ensure technical compatibility in the information gathered in the testing phase with both the NATO panel and the DE&S sonobuoy contract. Only Ultra Electronics Ltd have the technical information and knowledge required and no other contractor would have access to this information.

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