France – Gliders – Partenariat d'innovation relatif à l'étude, réalisation et acquisition de Planeur Ravitailleur Logistique (PRL)

The Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs wishes, through an innovation partnership, to acquire a Logistics Resupply Glider (PRL). The PRL is an unpowered and unmanned glider, capable of carrying a load of several hundred kilograms. The PRL will be air-transported and airdropped from an A400M. From this drop, it must be able to take off automatically and cover a distance of several tens of kilometers following the pre-programmed flight plan. At the end of the flight, the PRL's landing must preserve the integrity of the load and allow operators to recover the entire transported load. The PRL is a low-cost glider. Its integrity upon landing is not required. The acquisition cost of a glider will be capped at 50 000 € HT. ------------------------------------------------------------- PROCEDURE: The innovation partnership is awarded, in accordance with Article L.2373-1 of the Public Procurement Code. It will be executed in the form of several framework agreements with subsequent contracts (one framework agreement per partner). The chosen procedure is a negotiated procedure (formalised procedure), in accordance with Articles L.2324-1, L.2324-3, R.2324-1, R.2324-3, R.2361-8 to 12. A selection of candidates will be made based on the skills required for the present AAPC, then a selection of the partners retained will be made upon submission of the tenders. The tenders selected will be the most economically advantageous, according to the criteria set out in the consultation regulations which will be sent to the candidates admitted to tender. At the end of the consultation, a maximum of 3 partners will be retained for the award of the framework agreements serving as the basis for the implementation of the innovation partnership and entry into Phase 1. ------------------------------------------------------------------ INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP PROGRESS: The innovation partnership will be organised in three successive phases: - Phase 1: Study and design. This phase aims to study and design the logistics glider to be airdropped from the A400M transport aircraft. This phase will be the subject of a subsequent contract (MS 1) per partner retained following the award of the framework agreements. At the end of Phase 1, a maximum of 2 candidates will be retained in a selection whose modalities will be mentioned in the framework agreements, and will be awarded the MS 2 (Phase 2). - Phase 2: Development of the prototype A without navigation. This phase aims to develop a prototype A, meeting the partnership's performance requirements. It will be the subject of a subsequent contract per partner retained for the prototype A (MS 2). At the end of Phase 2, a single candidate will be retained in a selection whose modalities will be mentioned in the framework agreements, and will be awarded the MS 3 for entry into Phase 3. - Phase 3: Divided into two MS for the partner retained at the end of Phase 2: MS 3: Development of the prototype B with navigation. This subsequent contract aims to develop a prototype B, meeting the partnership's performance requirements. MS 4: Acquisition, scaling up and support. This subsequent contract aims to ensure the production of the gliders, the training and maintenance of the stored gliders. It will be concluded with the partner from Phase 3, subject to their meeting the conditions specified in the MS 3 documents. The modalities for the implementation of the innovation partnership and those of the subsequent contracts will be defined by the framework agreements. ------------------------------------------------------------------ SIZE: The quantity targeted for the production of PRLs is around 90 units for all partners and over the duration of the partnership. These quantities are an estimate and do not bind the Administration to the actual quantities ordered during the partnership. ------------------------------------------------------------------ AMOUNTS: Maximum amount of the innovation partnership: 9 000 000 € HT. The estimated amounts per phase are listed below: - 416 000 € HT for Phase 1 distributed among all partners - 950 000 € HT for Phase 2 distributed among the partners selected at the end of Phase 1 - 5 200 000 € HT for Phase 3, for the final partner if they meet the conditions in the business consultation file. The MS 4 contract may have significant technical uncertainties, it may include a provisional amount for the potential purchase of supplies and services that could not be precisely defined in the initial MS 4, in accordance with Articles R2372-19 to R2372-21 of the Public Procurement Code. ------------------------------------------------------------------ It is specified that the deadline for the submission of tenders is 07/07/2026 at 12:00 (Paris time). Those in section 5.1.12 are in UTC format. These are defence or security contracts. The estimated execution time is 7 years. ------------------------------------------------------------------ In accordance with Article R 2342-7 of the Public Procurement Code, this procedure is not open to economic operators from third countries to the European Union.