MoD diversifies procurement of UAVs, ground robotic systems, and ammo

This was reported by the procurement agency’s press service, according to Ukrinform.

It is noted that this decision was made to ensure a more reliable supply of critical equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and an optimal balance between price and supplier capabilities.

This approach will minimize both the consequences of objective force majeure circumstances, such as damage to production lines, and potential dishonest actions by manufacturers.

In practice, this will mean that when procuring defense products, the agency will not select a single supplier but will distribute orders among several participants if there are two or more acceptable bids.

The distribution of volumes will be based on a special formula. Under this mechanism, if a participant offers a price 30% or more above the lowest bid, the proposal is not considered; if several participants offer products from the same manufacturer, the proposal with the lowest price is selected. In the case of using customer-supplied raw materials, their price is included in the calculation.

At the same time, the suppliers’ actual ability to fulfill the contract is taken into account. If a supplier cannot fulfill their volume, the remainder is redistributed among the others.

The decision on the allocation will be approved by the Agency’s collegial body, after which draft government contracts will be submitted to the Ministry of Defense for approval.

“Diversifying contracts allows us to avoid dependence on a single manufacturer and reduces the risk of supply disruptions. We expected this decision—it is logical in wartime. This approach also fosters competition among manufacturers, as the contract volume is distributed among several participants and depends on their ability to fulfill deliveries,” noted Arsen Zhumadilov, Director of the DOT Defense Procurement Agency.

As reported, the DOT Defense Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defense has added the ability for the military to order ground-based robotic systems on the DOT-Chain Defense weapons marketplace. From now on, units can independently select and order ground-based robotic systems to perform combat and logistical tasks without deploying personnel to the target area.

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