A-Class Platform Complex Systems - Batch 2 PMS

The Platform Equipment Delivery Team (PEDT), part of the UK Ministry of Defence (the “Authority”), intends to enter into a contract (the “Contract”) with Northrop Grumman UK Limited (NGUKL) (the “Contractor”) to take effect on and from 1st January 2026 for a period of 7 years for the provision of in-service support of the Astute Class Platform Complex Systems Batch 2 Platform Management System (PMS), and equipment, providing technical support, waterfront support and PDS in support of the Authority, ensuring that availability is maintained and obsolescence and reliability issues are addressed. The system provides critical safety and operational functions in support of the Authority’s Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) capabilities. The Contract has a value (ex VAT) of approx. £29,000,000 (Twenty-Nine million pounds sterling).

It is considered that the Contract can be entered into using Direct Award pursuant to Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023 on the basis that the Contract may be awarded only to the Contractor for 7(a) the contracting authority receiving goods, services or works that are different from or incompatible with , the existing goods, services or works, and (b) the difference or incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operational maintenance.

The Contractor is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Design Authority (DA) for, and holder of all relevant proprietary information in, the A-Class Platform Complex Systems Batch 2 PMS. The PMS is a complex piece of equipment, which requires a carefully considered strategic approach to its through life support to maintain continuity, reduce operational risk and maintain capability. The Contractor as the OEM and DA, have the ability to ensure that all platforms with the Contractor’s PMS’s on board are continually upgraded to the latest software and is supported. The Contractor, as the only manufacturer and supplier of the A-Class Platform Complex systems Batch 2 PMS, is the only economic operator with the specific technical knowledge and experience of the A-Class PMS system to be able to support and update such equipment, avoiding safety and availability risk issues.