708294450-Biathlon_Rifles

The Dismounted Close Combat Project Team, part of the UK Ministry of Defence ("the Authority") intends to let a single-source contract with KCSR Limited for the partial replacement for the current in-service fleet of 1827F Biathlon Rifles for use in the Army's "Winter Games" competition. This procurement will complete the update of the fleet from old variant models to new.

It is considered that this contract can be placed using the negotiated procedure without prior publication pursuant to Article 32(2)(b)(ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The Authority requires these rifles as partial replacement for the current in-service fleet of 1827F Biathlon Rifles for use in the Army's "Winter Games" competition.

The Authority is unable to accommodate weapons from an alternative supplier as this would result in goods being supplied which would have different technical characteristics to those already in service, effecting the interoperability of the rifles. This would result in technical difficulties with incompatibility between existing and new weapons and accessories.

KCSR Limited is the exclusive UK distributor for the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of the 1827 Biathlon Rifle. In these circumstances the Authority considers that competition is absent for technical reasons.

Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate.

Additional information:

This notice is not a commitment to contract and contract award will be subject to financial approval.

This notice is not a request for expressions of interest so please do not apply to be invited to tender. This notice advises that the Authority has decided to negotiate a contract with the named supplier on a single source basis and is published for reasons of transparency. If you are interested in becoming a sub-contractor for this requirement, you should apply directly to the supplier named above.

The Cyber Risk Profile for this requirement identified by the Cyber Risk Assessment is Very Low (Reference - RAR-832461283).