Provision of Parachute Packing and Maintenance in the UK

The UK MOD has a requirement for the provision of a parachute packing, maintenance and inventory management service, based in the UK, in support of the MOD's parachuting programme which conducts an estimated 15,000-25,000 parachute descents per annum. The duration of this requirement will be for 5 years, however, the Authority may at its sole discretion extend the contract by a maximum of 2 years (taken in single or multiple year intervals).

The Parachute Equipment that will be supported includes, but is not limited to, various types of precision, low level, mass insertion, cargo parachutes and reserves along with associated ancillary equipment such as parachute release assemblies, carrying straps and life preservers ('Parachute Equipment').

New parachute systems may be brought into UK MOD service and into the scope of the requirement during the life of the contract.

The required service will include:

All work is to be conducted in accordance with the latest Civil and Military airworthiness regulations.

There may also be a requirement to perform further ad-hoc tasks upon formal request by the Authority.

Link to DPQQ - https://contracts.mod.uk/esop/guest/go/opportunity/detail?opportunityId=56423

DPQQ clarification question deadline - 16:00 GMT on Friday 10th Nov 2023.

DPQQ submission deadline - 16:00 GMT on Monday 20th Nov 2023.

If you experience any difficulties, please contact the DSP Supplier Helpdesk - customersupport@jaggaer.com.

Additional information:

As this procurement relates to the provision of services used for military purposes, the Authority will comply with the Defence & Security Public Contract Regulations (DSPCR 2011). The procurement will operate under the negotiated procedure with prior publication of a contract notice (the "competitive negotiated procedure").

The Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) will be used to manage the DPQQ and Invitation to Tender (ITT) process, including evaluation. Access to the DSP is required to complete the DPQQ and it is recommended that access is requested via Supplier Registration Page.

Following DPQQ evaluation, the Authority intends to invite a maximum of 5 (five) respondents to the ITT phase. The Authority reserves the right to award the Contract to the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) in accordance with the scoring criteria following evaluation of the tenders.

The Authority trades using the electronic 'Contracting, Purchasing & Finance' system (CP&F). Before completing the DPQQ, any interested parties should ensure that they have the ability to trade electronically, and the willingness connect to the CP&F System in the event of being successful.

A Cyber Risk Assessment has been conducted for this requirement to ascertain the level of Cyber Risk present. The result of this assessment is that a Cyber Risk level of 'Very Low' exists and therefore successful respondents invited to ITT will need to meet Cyber Essentials requirements. Respondents can verify their readiness to comply with opportunities bearing this Cyber Risk Level by completing a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire using RAR code: 131900429 For further information refer to Def Stan 05-138, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-for-defence-suppliers-def-stan-05-138

The issue of this Contract Notice (CN) or any future ITT or ITT material is not a commitment by the Authority to place a contract as a result of this competition or at a later stage. Any expenditure, work or effort undertaken prior to any offer and subsequent acceptance of contract, is a matter solely for your commercial judgement. The Authority has conducted previous industry engagement using Defence Sourcing Portal, with a Request for Information (RFI) published 12/11/2021.

https://www.contracts.mod.uk/esop/toolkit/opportunity/past/52781/detail.si

The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.