SULA to Advise DE&S on UK Rotary Wing Acquisition Strategy

, Sula Systems has won a competitive bid to provide technical support to the UK MoD’s newly formed DE&S Helicopter Strategy Team in planning the acquisition of Future Lift Capability for UK armed forces. 
 
Sula will be advising on the development of overall strategy and the commercial implications related to the evolution of the UK helicopter fleet for the next 25 years. The tasks are all focused on preparation for Initial Gate and Main Gate decision points. The work will cover assessment of all options from mid-life upgrades to new platforms and includes cost benefit analysis, closely integrated with the capability analysis being provided by Dstl. Final outputs will include requirements documentation, a cost appraisal report and a decision support tool. 
 
Sula will also be identifying capability gaps associated with the different strategy options and providing recommendations on how best to mitigate these potential operational risks. Inherent in this is a review of the operating parameters of the fleet, with a view to identifying innovative ways of working that could lead to better operational availability of the helicopter fleet. 
 
In the course of the programme Sula will be engaging with all stakeholders across the helicopter community, working closely to bring together a balanced set of opinions reflective of future need. The ability to develop and maintain constructive relationships with all parties to the acquisition process is one of Sula’s particular strengths and has been demonstrated in major programmes such as BOWMAN, FRES and MoD Acquisition Change. 
 
Sula Operations Director, Steve Scull, said, “The future development of the UK’s rotary wing capability is an issue of crucial importance. The fact that DE&S has entrusted us with this task is recognition of our ability to bring pragmatic, soundly based analysis and insights to the procurement process”.