The award: The MoD awarded Thales UK a £9.8m contract, concluded 7 August, to run the Link 16 Network Management System across the UK for an initial two years, with two one-year options plus crisis-period out-of-hours support. Work is based at Thales's Templecombe site in Somerset.
Why uncontested: Only one tender was received; the MoD justified the sole-source award by noting the equipment is unique, with Thales as OEM holding proprietary software rights. Switching systems now, the notice says, risks disrupting Link 16 access across all UK platforms and training.
What's at stake: Link 16 is NATO's tactical data link, used by Typhoon, F-35B, P-8A, E-7 Wedgetail, Type 45s, Type 23s, and the carriers. The management system allocates transmission slots and ensures compliance with a Civil Aviation Authority frequency agreement, since the band is shared with civil aviation.
