Remotely Piloted Aircraft System

In this section

• Request for information phase
• Request for information: Update phase
• Supplement to the request for information: Update
• Draft invitation to qualify phase
• Invitation to qualify phase
• Invitation to qualify: List of qualified supplier
• Review and refine requirements phase
• Request for proposal phase
• Evaluation phase of the request for proposal
• Finalization phase of the request for proposal

Request for information phase

The RFI was posted on Buyandsell.gc.ca (660BL-120002/B) on January 15, 2016, and it closed on April 15, 2016. The RFI provided an opportunity for Canada to determine suppliers interest for the requirement, and for suppliers to provide comments regarding long range, long endurance UAS.

Four amendments were posted on Buyandsell.gc.ca, the last of which was on March 15, 2016. Questions from suppliers were accepted and answers were provided and distributed on Buyandsell.gc.ca.

Fifteen responses to the RFI were submitted by suppliers. One supplier who did not submit an RFI response requested a meeting with the RPAS team to present their data processing and analysis capability. In total, 9 suppliers participated in one-on-one sessions.

On January 22, 2018, a first set of follow-up questions was sent to 3 suppliers. On December 17, 2018, a second set of follow-up questions was sent to 2 suppliers who presented their answers in one-on-one meetings which took place on January 25 and February 26, 2019.

The FM attended the one-on-one meetings and reviewed the RFI document, follow-up questions, as well as questions received from suppliers and answers provided during the RFI posting period to ensure that fairness considerations were satisfactorily addressed.

No fairness issues were identified.

Request for information: Update phase

The update to the RFI was posted on Buyandsell.gc.ca (660BL-120002/C) on July 6, 2016, and it closed on April 12, 2019. The update to the RFI ensured that all suppliers had the same information following the latest one-on-one sessions, and that a line of communication with interested suppliers remained open. This notice was used to provide updates such as project's name change, links to announcements by the CAF, etc.

Five notice amendments to the update to the RFI were published on Buyandsell.gc.ca, with the last one being on April 8, 2019.

The FM reviewed the update to the RFI and amendments to ensure that fairness considerations were satisfactorily addressed.

No fairness issues were identified.

Supplement to the request for information: Update

A supplement to the RFI update was posted on Buyandsell.gc.ca (660BL-120002/D) on December 17, 2018, and it closed on April 12, 2019. The supplement to the RFI update informed industry that, in support of the efforts to develop the RPAS project's sustainment requirements and approach, sustainment-related questions had been drafted for written responses to be provided by February 15, 2019.

One amendment was posted on Buyandsell.gc.ca on April 8, 2019. No responses were received from industry.

The FM reviewed the supplement to the RFI update and the related amendment to ensure that fairness considerations were satisfactorily addressed.

No fairness issues were identified.

Draft invitation to qualify phase

The draft ITQ was posted on Buyandsell.gc.ca (W847A-190247/A) on April 5, 2019, and it closed on April 23, 2019. The draft ITQ provided the opportunity for interested suppliers to submit their written feedback by April 23, 2019, before Canada released the final ITQ to be used to pre-qualify suppliers.

Eight respondents provided comments on the draft ITQ.

The FM reviewed the draft ITQ as well as the feedback and questions received from suppliers to ensure that fairness considerations were satisfactorily addressed.

No fairness issues were identified.

Invitation to qualify phase

The ITQ was posted on Buyandsell.gc.ca (W847A-190247/B) on May 2, 2019, and it closed on May 16, 2019. The ITQ was deemed to be the first phase of the procurement process for the RPAS project and was meant to invite suppliers to pre-qualify.

One amendment was posted on Buyandsell.gc.ca on May 14, 2019. Questions from potential suppliers were accepted and answers were provided and distributed on Buyandsell.gc.ca.

Five suppliers submitted responses on the ITQ. Evaluation guidelines and an evaluation grid were developed in alignment with the qualification requirements as per annex A of the ITQ. The technical evaluation team was composed of 4 evaluators. A consensus evaluation meeting took place on May 17, 2019. A consensus was achieved on the qualification requirements that were evaluated during the meeting. Two suppliers were deemed compliant with the qualification requirements.

An opportunity to provide additional information was provided to 3 suppliers, as permitted by clause 3.2 note 3 of the ITQ. A second consensus meeting took place on May 28, 2019 to review responses and new information provided by suppliers. A consensus was achieved on the qualification requirements, and all 3 suppliers were deemed non-compliant with the qualification requirements.

The FM reviewed the ITQ, as well as all questions and answers provided during the ITQ posting period. The FM also reviewed the evaluation guidelines and the evaluation grid and attended the consensus meetings to ensure that fairness considerations were satisfactorily addressed.

No fairness issues were identified.

Invitation to qualify: List of qualified suppliers

A letter of interest (LOI) - RFI was posted on Buyandsell.gc.ca (W847A-190247/C) on May 30, 2019 to provide the names of the 2 qualified suppliers. The LOI - RFI closed on June 1, 2022.

Although the LOI - RFI indicated that Canada could, at its sole discretion, re-open the ITQ, it has not occurred. The LOI - RFI is also used to update the list of consulting firms engaged by Canada during the procurement process.

Four amendments were posted on Buyandsell.gc.ca, with the last one being on June 1, 2022. The first 3 amendments provided the names of consulting firms engaged that may have been involved in the preparation and review of the solicitation documents or may have had access to solicitation documents in performing their tasks. During the RFP phase, more specifically on May 20, 2022, PWGSC was advised by 1 of the qualified suppliers that they have elected not to bid. The fourth amendment was to indicate the withdrawal of this qualified supplier.

The FM reviewed the LOI - RFI and amendments to ensure that fairness considerations were satisfactorily addressed.

No fairness issues were identified.

Review and refine requirements phase

The RRR phase started on July 10, 2019. Emails were sent to the 2 qualified suppliers with an RRR document to share information and obtain feedback from qualified suppliers on Canada's preliminary requirements, the notional procurement process, and on subsequent phases of the procurement.

One amendment was sent to the qualified suppliers on April 23, 2021 to replace some articles of the RRR document and add new ones. Numerous activities took place during the RRR phase as further detailed below.

Request for proposal phase

The RFP (W847A-190247/D) was sent to both qualified suppliers on February 11, 2022 and had a closing date of August 11, 2022. Nine notices relating to the cold weather evaluation were issued, the last of which was on August 2, 2022. Eight amendments were issued, the last of which was on July 27, 2022. Questions from qualified suppliers were accepted and answers were provided through the amendments.

Both qualified suppliers attended the on-site survey at Yellowknife airport in April 2022. In accordance with article 15 of the RFP annex 2A, both qualified suppliers submitted on April 12, 2022, a first security offer in response to the requirements identified in appendix 2C-4: Security acceptability assessment.

The security assessment team assessed whether the offer was acceptable or not. The security assessment team was composed of 4 evaluators and 1 secretary/coordinator. The team was assisted by 4 security subject matter expert teams. The evaluation began on April 14, 2022, and consensus meetings took place on May 13, 2022, and June 6, 2022.

As indicated in section Invitation to qualify: List of qualified suppliers of this report, 1 qualified supplier advised PWGSC on May 20, 2022, that they have elected not to bid. Therefore, the assessment results were only sent to the remaining qualified supplier on June 13, 2022.

A request for further information was sent to the remaining qualified supplier on June 14, 2022. A meeting took place on July 27, 2022, with the qualified supplier to discuss matters relating to the cold weather evaluation.

The FM reviewed the RFP documents, as well as all questions and answers provided during the RFP posting period, to ensure that fairness considerations were satisfactorily addressed. The FM attended the on-site survey at Yellowknife airport. The FM attended the consensus meetings with the security assessment team, as well as the meeting with the qualified supplier.

No fairness issues were identified.

Evaluation phase of the request for proposal

A proposal evaluation governance structure document was prepared that defined the organizational structure of the evaluation governance bodies, their membership and their roles and responsibilities in managing the evaluation phase of the RFP. In addition, a proposal evaluation management plan was developed that described the management and administrative conduct of the evaluation and assessment of the proposals. The latter described in detail how each evaluation and assessment would be performed.

Oversight bodies included:

• an executive governance committee
• an evaluation management committee
• an evaluation review board
• a PWGSC management team

Each evaluation team consisted of 3 evaluators and was assigned:

• an evaluation manager
• a deputy evaluation manager
• a team leader

Expert advisors assisted the evaluators as needed.

All evaluators, and those involved in the evaluations in a supporting role, were asked to complete the following required training prior before the start of their evaluations:

• general evaluation training
• RPAS specific training
• evaluation specific training

The evaluation, assessment and review phase of the proposal started on August 16, 2022. Consensus meetings related to the following:

• capability evaluations, including the second security acceptability assessment
• life cycle cost evaluation
• VP evaluation

The consensus meetings took place during the period from August 26 to October 27, 2022. The mission performance evaluation conformity check took place on September 1, 2022, and the life cycle cost conformity check took place on September 15, 2022. The first economic impact assessment briefing was conducted on September 27, 2022. The second security acceptability assessment took place on October 14, 2022, and the second security offer was deemed acceptable. A compliance assessment report (CAR) was sent on November 1, 2022, advising the qualified supplier of their compliance with all the RFP mandatory requirements.

Seven notices relating to the cold weather validation were issued, the last of which was on January 10, 2023. A virtual meeting took place on October 4, 2022, to discuss the cold weather validation. Virtual coordination meetings took place on December 15, 2022, and January 27, 2023 to discuss the upcoming cold weather validation with the qualified supplier.

In preparation for the finalization phase, requests for further information were sent to the qualified supplier on October 20, 2022, and November 7, 2022. Notices were sent to the qualified supplier on December 14 and 23, 2022 regarding an upcoming airworthiness familiarization training.

On January 13, 2023, a request was sent to the qualified supplier to extend the validity date of their proposal until the issuance of the resulting instruments; the request was approved. A virtual meeting took place on January 18, 2023, to discuss the upcoming finalization phase process.

The evaluation phase concluded on January 30, 2023, with the qualified supplier being informed that he has been invited to participate in the finalization phase of the solicitation process.

The FM reviewed the:

• governance structure
• proposal evaluation management plan
• RFP amendments
• requests for further information and notices sent to the qualified supplier
• CAR
• letter advising the qualified supplier of the close of the evaluation phase
• final evaluation report (the FM had access to all the evaluation records, including the evaluators' notes)

The FM observed:

• all consensus meetings
• the conformity checks
• the first economic impact assessment briefing

No fairness issues were identified.

Finalization phase of the request for proposal

A virtual meeting took place on February 10, 2023 to discuss the expectations regarding the finalization phase and identify any elements of the RFP where clarifications or discussions may be required.

Several activities took place during the finalization phase, including numerous in-person working group meetings and virtual meetings to discuss and finalize the resulting instruments as further discussed below. On December 15, 2023, the finalization phase was deemed successful by Canada as it was determined that all the finalization phase requirements noted in the RFP were met.

Fairness monitoring activities related to contract award and debriefings

The contract was awarded to the qualified supplier on December 18, 2023.

There were no debriefing requests after contract award.

The FM reviewed the contract award correspondence with the qualified supplier.

Attestation of assurance

The FM hereby provides the unqualified assurance statement below concerning the RPAS procurement process up to and including the conclusion of contract award and debriefing activities.

It is our professional opinion that the process that we observed or monitored was carried out in a fair, open and transparent manner.

Original signed by: