Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice (VEAT) for the award of a contract for Phase 2 of the National Radar Upgrade

II.2.4) Description of the procurement: AirNav Ireland gives notice to rely on Article 32 (b)(ii) and (iii) of Directive 2014/24/EU and award a contract by way of the negotiated procedure without prior publication as the required services can be supplied only by a particular economic operator as competition is absent …

CPV: 35722000 Radares
Lugar de ejecución:
Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice (VEAT) for the award of a contract for Phase 2 of the National Radar Upgrade
Organismo adjudicador:
The Irish Air Navigation Service
Número de premio:
1

1. Buyer

1.1 Buyer

Official name : The Irish Air Navigation Service
Legal type of the buyer : Body governed by public law
Activity of the contracting authority : General public services

2. Procedure

2.1 Procedure

Title : Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice (VEAT) for the award of a contract for Phase 2 of the National Radar Upgrade
Description : II.2.4) Description of the procurement: AirNav Ireland gives notice to rely on Article 32 (b)(ii) and (iii) of Directive 2014/24/EU and award a contract by way of the negotiated procedure without prior publication as the required services can be supplied only by a particular economic operator as competition is absent for technical reasons and the protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights. AirNav Ireland intends to award a contract for Phase 2 of the National Radar Upgrade project to Thales LAS France SAS for a period of five years at an estimated value of €20,770,636.00 The National Radar Upgrade project is a capital infrastructure upgrade targeting eight radar sites. Phase 1 of the National Radar Upgrade project includes the upgrade of four radar sites. The contract for Phase 1 was awarded through the use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication to Thales LAS France SAS and commenced on 15 December 2022. Phase 2 of the National Radar Upgrade project will include the upgrade of the remaining four radar sites including the upgrade of three primary radars and four secondary radars at these sites and the replacement of selected mechanical radar components. Phase 2 is scheduled to commenced in 2025 with phased completion dates through to 2029. Thales LAS France SAS are the only economic operator that can supply the required services for Phase 2 of the National Radar Upgrade for the protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights: • The existing system hardware and software use patented Thales proprietary data which cannot be released by AirNav Ireland to any third party, and which will be not released by Thales to any third party; and • AirNav Ireland only hold the rights to operate the existing system. AirNav does not have the right to modify the system pursuant to the terms of the original radar delivery contract entered between AirNav Ireland and Thales. Thales LAS France SAS (“Thales”) are the only economic operator that can supply the required services for Phase 2 of the National Radar Upgrade for the following technical reasons: • The rotary joint specific characteristics (number of signal lines) of existing radars are incompatible with non-Thales solutions, in particular the incompatibility of the weather data stream with other manufacturers solutions; • The significant technical risk associated with integrating electrical bays from one manufacturer with the mechanical or energy bays of a different manufacturer; • The necessity to maintain a uniformity of the controls of the radar, in particular from a safety point of view between rotation control and emission control leading to the impossibility to integrate two different control designs together; • An increased risk in failing to achieve certification pursuant to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1768 and compliance with other mandated regulatory standards associated with the adoption of a new manufacturer who does not know the specificities of the site and the radar; • Notwithstanding Thales’ IPR and proprietary rights in the system, there would be significant familiarization time needed for another manufacturer to perform the upgrade of an existing Thales radar (where the new manufacturer has no knowledge of the existing systems); and • If a manufacturer other than Thales was selected to provide services for Phase 2, Thales would not be responsible for the safety, performance and malfunctioning of the existing radar system, they would not be able to support the existing radar system and would not be able to provide certification of the existing system for the purposes of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1768.
Procedure identifier : 373bf5de-7cce-43d3-9a14-68929dc337c4
Type of procedure : Negotiated without prior call for competition

2.1.1 Purpose

Main nature of the contract : Supplies
Additional nature of the contract : Services
Main classification ( cpv ): 35722000 Radar

2.1.4 General information

Legal basis :
Directive 2014/24/EU

5. Lot

5.1 Lot technical ID : LOT-0001

Title : VEAT Notice for the award of a contract for Phase 2 of the National Radar Upgrade.
Description : AirNav Ireland gives notice to rely on Article 32 (b)(ii) and (iii) of Directive 2014/24/EU and award a contract by way of the negotiated procedure without prior publication as the required services can be supplied only by a particular economic operator as competition is absent for technical reasons and the protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights. AirNav Ireland intends to award a contract for Phase 2 of the National Radar Upgrade project to Thales LAS France SAS for a period of five years at an estimated value of €20,770,636.00 The National Radar Upgrade project is a capital infrastructure upgrade targeting eight radar sites. Phase 1 of the National Radar Upgrade project includes the upgrade of four radar sites. The contract for Phase 1 was awarded through the use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication to Thales LAS France SAS and commenced on 15 December 2022. Phase 2 of the National Radar Upgrade project will include the upgrade of the remaining four radar sites including the upgrade of three primary radars and four secondary radars at these sites and the replacement of selected mechanical radar components. Phase 2 is scheduled to commenced in 2025 with phased completion dates through to 2029. Thales LAS France SAS are the only economic operator that can supply the required services for Phase 2 of the National Radar Upgrade for the protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights: • The existing system hardware and software use patented Thales proprietary data which cannot be released by AirNav Ireland to any third party, and which will be not released by Thales to any third party; and • AirNav Ireland only hold the rights to operate the existing system. AirNav does not have the right to modify the system pursuant to the terms of the original radar delivery contract entered between AirNav Ireland and Thales. Thales LAS France SAS (“Thales”) are the only economic operator that can supply the required services for Phase 2 of the National Radar Upgrade for the following technical reasons: • The rotary joint specific characteristics (number of signal lines) of existing radars are incompatible with non-Thales solutions, in particular the incompatibility of the weather data stream with other manufacturers solutions; • The significant technical risk associated with integrating electrical bays from one manufacturer with the mechanical or energy bays of a different manufacturer; • The necessity to maintain a uniformity of the controls of the radar, in particular from a safety point of view between rotation control and emission control leading to the impossibility to integrate two different control designs together; • An increased risk in failing to achieve certification pursuant to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1768 and compliance with other mandated regulatory standards associated with the adoption of a new manufacturer who does not know the specificities of the site and the radar; • Notwithstanding Thales’ IPR and proprietary rights in the system, there would be significant familiarization time needed for another manufacturer to perform the upgrade of an existing Thales radar (where the new manufacturer has no knowledge of the existing systems); and • If a manufacturer other than Thales was selected to provide services for Phase 2, Thales would not be responsible for the safety, performance and malfunctioning of the existing radar system, they would not be able to support the existing radar system and would not be able to provide certification of the existing system for the purposes of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1768.
Internal identifier : 1

5.1.1 Purpose

Main nature of the contract : Supplies
Main classification ( cpv ): 35722000 Radar
Quantity : 8 piece

5.1.6 General information

Procurement Project not financed with EU Funds.
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) : no

5.1.7 Strategic procurement

Aim of strategic procurement : No strategic procurement

5.1.16 Further information, mediation and review

Review organisation : The High Court of Ireland -

6. Results

Value of all contracts awarded in this notice : 20 770 636 Euro
Direct award :
Justification for direct award : The contract can be provided only by a particular economic operator because of protection of other exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights, other than those defined in Directive 2014/23/EU Art. 5(10)
Other justification : This is a VEAT notice to indicate that AirNav Ireland intends to rely on Article 32(b) of Directive 2014/24 of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement (Directive 2014/24/EU) to utilise the negotiated procedure without prior publication to award a contract. Article 32 of the Directive 2014/24/EU allows the use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication where (b) the required works, suppliers or services can be supplied only by a particular economic operator for the reasons including where (ii) competition is absent for technical reasons, and (iii) the protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights. This notice is to indicate that AirNav Ireland intends to use the negotiated procedure without prior publication to award the contract for Phase 2 of the National Radar Upgrade project to Thales LAS France SAS.

6.1 Result lot ldentifier : LOT-0001

6.1.2 Information about winners

8. Organisations

8.1 ORG-0001

Official name : The Irish Air Navigation Service
Registration number : 734291
Postal address : The Times Building, 11-12 D'Olier Street
Town : Dublin 2
Postcode : D02 T449
Country subdivision (NUTS) : Dublin ( IE061 )
Country : Ireland
Telephone : 3531 6031486
Internet address : www.airnav.ie
Buyer profile : www.airnav.ie
Roles of this organisation :
Buyer

8.1 ORG-0002

Official name : The High Court of Ireland
Registration number : The High Court of Ireland
Department : The High Court of Ireland
Postal address : Four Courts, Inns Quay, Dublin 7
Town : Dublin
Postcode : D07 WDX8
Country subdivision (NUTS) : Dublin ( IE061 )
Country : Ireland
Telephone : +353 1 8886000
Roles of this organisation :
Review organisation

8.1 ORG-0003

Official name : European Dynamics S.A.
Registration number : 002024901000
Department : European Dynamics S.A.
Town : Athens
Postcode : 15125
Country subdivision (NUTS) : Βόρειος Τομέας Αθηνών ( EL301 )
Country : Greece
Telephone : +30 2108094500
Roles of this organisation :
TED eSender

8.1 ORG-0004

Official name : Thales Las France SAS
Registration number : 9950614P
Postal address : Parc Tortiaire Icade
Town : 3AV Charles Linberg
Postcode : BP20361
Country subdivision (NUTS) : Paris ( FR101 )
Country : France
Roles of this organisation :
Tenderer
Notice information
Notice identifier/version : 0289bfe3-d379-48ad-8598-a012c8dc2e6e - 01
Form type : Direct award preannouncement
Notice type : Voluntary ex-ante transparency notice
Notice dispatch date : 06/03/2025 15:45 +00:00
Languages in which this notice is officially available : English
Notice publication number : 00153186-2025
OJ S issue number : 48/2025
Publication date : 10/03/2025