OFFICIAL

Personal Location
Transmitters (PLTs)
Request for
Information

OFFICIAL
 OFFICIAL

Confidentiality

1. All information included in this Request for Information (RFI) is confidential and only for
the named addressee. No information included in your response, or in discussions
connected to it, will be disclosed to any other party.
Introduction
2. The Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) hasn’t sourced a long-term supply of Personal
Location Transmitters (PLTs), previously known as Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs),
for submarines since 2014. This RFI seeks to understand the current market’s
preferred contracting options, pricing and lead times for the supply of PLTs.

3. The supply of PLTs for submarines is critical to ensuring platform safety. The SDA is
seeking information to inform potential future procurements, and we would like to invite
your company to answer a few questions to explore ways in which this can be
achieved.

4. This RFI is not a bidding opportunity but a means by which Industry can provide
information. Any resulting procurement activity will be conducted competitively.

Scope

5. Table 1 contains a provisional annual requirement for the PLTs the SDA wishes to
procure. Please note, the SDAs financial year (FY) is the 1st April to 31st March.
Additionally, the requirements contained in Table 1 is subject to change. The Table
aims to provide a reference for the anticipated quantity of PLTs which the SDA is
seeking to purchase.

FY 25/26 26/27 27/28 28/29 29/30 30/31 31/32 32/33 33/34 34/35 Total

Number 1635 1900 880 540 125 125 540 125 125 2550 8545
of PLTs
Table 1: PLTs anticipated annual requirement

Requirement

6. It is important to note that the PLTs must comply with the following specifications:
a. Operating Temperatures: The PLTs must be capable of operating in an air
temperature range of -20oC to +55oC. The PLTs must be capable of operating in a
sea temperature range of -1oC to +35oC.
b. Casing: The PLTs must have an impact resistant casing, that is depth rated to a
minimum of 200 meters.
c. Mounting Options: The PLTs must have the ability to be attached to a single man
life raft.
d. Alerting Radius: The PLTs must have an alerting radius of up to 60 nautical miles
from the air and provide a visual signal, e.g. flashing light.
e. Indicator: The PLTs must provide the user a positive indicator on successful
operation
f. Signal: The PLTs must provide a homing alertment via 121.5 MHz.
g. Power requirement: The PLTs must preferably be provided with an end user
replaceable Commercial off the shelf Alkaline Battery. However, if an Alkaline
Battery is not possible, please present alternatives.

2
 OFFICIAL

h. Battery Life: The battery life must be a minimum of 3 years in storage.

i. Operational Life: The PLTs must have a minimum of 24 hours of transmission
once activated.
j. Dimension: The PLTs must not exceed the maximum dimensions of 83cm x 56cm
x 35cm, excluding the ariel.
o Smaller Dimension are desirable
k. Weight: The PLTs must not exceed the maximum weight of 400g.
o Lighter weights are desirable.
l. Automatic Activation: The PLTs must have automatic activation by means of
seawater activation. Note: Unit must be capable of automatic seawater and manual
activation without opening and/or removing the unit from its pressure tight case.

m. Manual Activation: The PLTs must also be able to be manually activated if

required. Note: Unit must be capable of automatic seawater and manual activation
without opening and/or removing the unit from its pressure tight case.

Purpose of the RFI

7. This RFI aims to achieve the following outcomes:

a. To gather information about the current market for the provision of PLTs for
Submarines.
b. To understand the potential lead times, underpinning supply chain and
manufacturing issues and to consider the impact that these might have upon
delivery schedules and size/frequency of batch deliveries in relation to PLTs.
c. To explore the ways in which a future Contract could be structured and priced to
ensure a continuous supply of PLTs for Submarines for the future.

d. Develop a Procurement Strategy that will deliver best value for money (VFM) for
Defence.

RFI Procedure
8. This RFI will be advertised on the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) and Contracts
Finder and issued to all who request an RFI together with other companies whom the
Ministry of Defence (MOD) believes may be able to provide useful intelligence on this
requirement.

9. Responses to this RFI will be reviewed by subject matter experts from different
functional areas within the SDA Platform Equipment Delivery Team (PEDT). Following
receipt of responses to this RFI the Authority may initiate follow on engagement with
either individual potential suppliers, groups of potential suppliers or all potential
suppliers. This may be undertaken in writing or through virtual meetings.

10. Any details provided in response to this RFI or during subsequent engagement will be
used for information purposes only and will not be used to determine the potential
suppliers who will be invited to bid, should the Authority proceed to tender.

11. The results and analysis of this RFI shall not constitute any form of pre-qualification
UK Procurement Law.

3
 OFFICIAL

12. Nothing in this RFI, or any other engagements with Industry prior to a formal
procurement process, shall be construed as a representation as to the Authority’s
ultimate decision in relation to the future requirement. Please note, is not a commitment
by the Authority to launch a formal procurement process and the requirement, described
above, may be subject to change.

How to deliver responses to this RFI

13. To respond to this RFI please complete the form at Annex A and return electronically
to [email protected] no later than 23:59 22nd August 2025.
Responses will be acknowledged by email.

Contacts
14. Please raise questions relating to this RFI by email to
[email protected]

4
 OFFICIAL

Annex A – 715409453 Personal Location Transmitters (PLTs) RFI Response form

Company Overview
Company Name
Company Address
Name of Company representative
completing the RFI
Contact details (e-mail and telephone
number)
Company web site address
Questions
Requirement
1) Do you have an existing product that can meet, or partially meet, the PLTs
requirement detailed in this RFI?

2) Can you provide a ROM cost for your PLT? Additionally, to what extent could volume-
based discounts be offered, and at what order quantities would these discounts become
applicable?

3) What would be the estimated lead time for the supply and shipping of PLTs to the
above specification? Shipping will be to the UK.

4) What is the design life of your PLTs solution?

Contract
5) The MOD seeks FIRM prices for a duration of three years, with subsequent years
priced using a pre agreed Variation of Price (VOP) formula based upon Office for National
Statistics (ONS) indices (FIXED price). Please provide your comments upon the
acceptability of this approach to your organisation.

6) Could you please outline any risks, assumptions, or dependencies that may affect
your ability to provide firm/fixed pricing for the following durations:
a) Three years (fully firm pricing for three years);
b) Five years (three years firm pricing followed by two years fixed pricing);
c) Ten years (three years firm pricing followed by seven years fixed pricing)?

7) Would your organisation also be able to provide firm pricing for the purchase of
individual PLTs on an as-needed basis, in addition to a demand plan for PLTs? If so,
could you please outline any considerations or constraints that may apply to offering firm
pricing for these optional purchases?

5
 OFFICIAL

8) Would a 10-year contract, consisting of 5 years of fixed orders followed by an

additional 5 years of optional purchase orders, be a suitable contracting mechanism for
your organisation? If this is not suitable, please can you advise what contracting
mechanism would be?

Social Value
9) Central Government seeks to identify opportunities to increase social value across its
contracts. What opportunities for added social value are relevant to the supply of PLTs
and how could your company work with the SDA in pursuit of these. Further information
on the Government’s approach to Social Value can be found at: (PPN 002: Taking
account of social value in the award of contracts - GOV.UK )

Thank you