BAE Systems has been awarded a contract worth just over £135 million to maintain the Royal Navy’s Spearfish and Sting Ray torpedoes, placed without competition on the grounds that no other company is capable of doing the work, according to a contract award notice published by the Ministry of Defence.
The Torpedoes Repair and Maintenance contract, referenced TTHC/0017 and known as TRAM, covers in-service support of the Spearfish heavyweight and Sting Ray lightweight torpedoes.
The award decision was taken on 1 July and the notice was published on 29 July by the department’s Torpedoes and Maritime Strike Project Team at Abbey Wood. The contract was awarded to BAE Systems Surface Ships Ltd of Portsmouth, at a total final value of £135,254,245.71 excluding VAT.
The publication is a contract award notice, issued after a contract has been placed rather than to invite bids. The Ministry of Defence used a negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice, a route that removes the requirement to advertise the work for tender. One offer was received.
Justifying that approach, the notice states the award is lawful under Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 “due to technical reasons whereby BAE Systems is the only economic operator in the market with the necessary know-how, capacity and infrastructure that is able to provide the required level of expertise and support to meet the entire requirement without excessive or unacceptable risk.”
Central to that reasoning is the company’s role as Design Authority for both weapons. “BAE Systems are the Design Authority for both the Spearfish and Sting Ray torpedoes. Both types of torpedo will be required to be supported during the contract,” the notice states, adding that the company is “uniquely placed to undertake the requirement to support these torpedoes and incorporate the modifications having designed, certificated and supported the systems throughout their service life.”
The department set out the consequences of the work not being done to the required standard. “The technical expertise within BAE Systems is key to the continued safety certification and maintenance to ensure a continued torpedo capability,” the notice says. “Failure to implement suitable support would jeopardise the functionality of the systems and thus the safety of deployed personnel.” The contract is not expected to be sub-contracted.
A corrigendum published shortly after the original notice removed the stated contract duration of three years, with the department noting only that the “value updated to correct to actual Contract value.”
Spearfish is the Royal Navy’s heavyweight torpedo, carried by Astute class attack submarines and by the Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines for self-defence.
Sting Ray is the lightweight anti-submarine torpedo launched from surface ships, helicopters including the Merlin and Wildcat, and fixed-wing aircraft such as the P-8A Poseidon. Originally entering service in the 1980s and upgraded to Mod 1 standard from the 2000s, it remains the Royal Navy’s principal air-launched and ship-launched anti-submarine weapon.
Both weapons are sustained through BAE Systems’ underwater weapons work, with torpedo activity centred on the company’s sites at Broad Oak in Portsmouth and its wider maritime services business.
