Provision of WADER Software Upgrade Plan

The Royal Navy, part of the Ministry of Defence, intends to award a 2-year initial contract with contractual options for 2 further years, with a value of £1,380,399.00 (excluding vat and option years), to Ocean Acoustic Developments Ltd for the provision of an Annual Upgrade Plan for WADER sonar range prediction software to MOD. In accordance with the provisions of The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 SI No. 2020/1319, this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) as amended (in particular by SI 2020/1319). Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate.

It is considered that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (in accordance with the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) of the PCR 2015 because competition is absent for technical reasons. The MOD needs to be able to access software upgrades, updates, software development, and technical support and training for the WADER software, which can only be met by Ocean Acoustic Developments Ltd who, as the developer and owner of the source code in the software, is the only supplier with the IPR, technical skills and expertise to deliver the ongoing support requirements under the Annual Upgrade Plan.