SVK Air Force bases to field new radar systems after outdated ones reach end of service life

Airspace over the SVK Air Force bases will be safeguarded by new, secure and reliable radar systems. These are to replace the non-compliant outdated ones, as their service life ended three years ago already. The contract was put out to competition, with ELDIS Pardubice LLC being selected as the winning bidder. The Ministry of Defence and ELDIS Pardubice LLC have today signed the Framework Contract for Delivery of Three Sets of Airport Surveillance Radar Systems. The contract is worth €23,740,694.40, VAT included.

Given that SVK Air Force assets are embedded within the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS), the aim of the project is for the SVK Air Force bases to deliver safe and secure air traffic control (ATC) and air navigation services (ANS) in line with the Civil Aviation Act and the NATO standardisation agreements.

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď commented: “Equipment after its service life is probably another serious problem in our Armed Forces only second to the poor state of infrastructure. Although it is sad, it is also a clear mirror reflecting that essential investments in modernisation and development were neglected by the previous MOD leaderships. As a result, we are seeking to remedy the situation by making effective, targeted, transparent and economic investments.”

The Ministry of Defence is to procure three sets of airport surveillance radar systems, as follows: Surveillance Radar Element (SRE), Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) and Precision Approach Radar (PAR). It follows from the signed Framework Agreement that the first radar system will be delivered to the Transport Wing Kuchyňa by the end of 2021.

Before the contract was put out to competition, the MOD conducted a market survey, approached several manufacturers and requested price quotes. Based on the findings, it can be stated that, compared to ELDIS Pardubice LLC, the price quotes by other manufacturers were much higher. The winning bid by ELDIS Pardubice LLC was by €139,305.60 lower than the estimated total value of the contract announced.

The negotiated procedure was selected as a public procurement procedure for the new airport surveillance radar systems. The competition was announced twice and in both cases the contract notice was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). It was first published on 20 May 2019, with ELDIS Pardubice LLC being the only bidder. However, the submitted documents were incomplete and departed from the conditions stated in the tender documentation. As a result, the negotiated procedure was cancelled in line with the Public Procurement Act. On 22 July 2019, the contract notice was published under the same terms and conditions again. ELDIS Pardubice LLC was the only bidder to submit a bid again.