The Federal Armed Forces Procurement Office is a large authority, thousands of people take care of the purchase of goods for the troops.
In a prestigious major contract, the authority did not cut a good figure.
Bonn - In the dispute over a major assault rifle order, the procurement office of the Bundeswehr is targeted by critics.
As can be seen from a decision by the Federal Cartel Office, the Koblenz authority made a serious mistake in the award procedure.
The authority had contacted the bidders after the last possible offer and allowed the actually defeated bidder CGHaenel to change his offer - and thereby bypass the competitor Heckler & Koch.
This was "inadmissible", according to the judges of the public procurement tribunal located at the Cartel Office.
It's about 120,000 weapons
The prestigious order involves 120,000 weapons that are intended to replace the German armed forces' previous standard rifle, the G36 from Heckler & Koch. The contract award should have been made long ago, there were considerable delays - the contract could not be awarded until the end of the year at the earliest. Last September, CGHaenel was initially awarded the contract - because of the inadmissible action of the procurement office, as the court decision now reveals. The small company from Suhl in Thuringia belongs to an Arab armaments company.
Heckler & Koch took legal action against the decision in favor of Haenel.
In March 2021, the Federal Ministry of Defense and the Federal Armed Forces Procurement Office, which is subordinate to it, changed course: Haenel was excluded from the award procedure and HK was to be awarded the contract.
This was justified with "patent infringements" - here Heckler & Koch accuses Haenel of using a patent that is important for quick shooting ability after wading through water.
In the meantime, separate proceedings are pending before the Düsseldorf Regional Court regarding this patent dispute.
Secret world of procurement procedures
Haenel took action against the exclusion and wanted to take part in the award procedure again. In mid-June, however, the Federal Cartel Office's procurement chamber rejected a corresponding application. The decision has since been published: It gives a remarkable insight into the otherwise secretive world of award procedures.
As can be read in the decision, the procurement office contacted the two bidders at a time when changes to their offers were no longer possible according to procurement law. In the case of Haenel, the officials asked whether the prices for a certain accessory were meant per part or per pack of three. The accessory name is omitted from the published decision. As can be learned from informed circles, this is about “Stanag rails” - rails that are attached to the rifle in order to attach telescopic sights or laser light modules to them.
Heckler & Koch stuck to its offer - knowing that changes would no longer be valid anyway.
Haenel, in turn, changed its offer and price.
The “concretization” of the price meant that Haenel “submitted a more economical offer”, according to the decision.
"Here the measure inadmissibly led to a change in the ranking order," complain the judges.
"Big blunder"
External experts shake their heads. From the point of view of the procurement lawyer Jan Byok from the law firm Bird & Bird, the procurement office made “a gross mistake”. "Allowing such a subsequent price change is an inexplicable mistake for beginners," complained Byok. It is by no means an isolated case, rather it is part of a long chain of errors by the procurement office in the award of arms. "Whether frigates, transport helicopters, combat training centers or protective vests - there are delays in practically every major project by the procurement office, which are also based on errors in procurement law." That is bad for the Bundeswehr - "the troops are suffering from the situation," says Byok.
Sharp criticism also came from the Bundestag. There are clear criteria for the procurement of material, said the FDP MP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. The fact that the procurement office and all its lawyers have allowed improvements to be made in the course of the proceedings is "one of the many grotesques" that one has seen for years. “Out of ignorance or because you wanted to please a provider?” Asked the Liberal. The office urgently needs to be reformed. Tobias Lindner from the Greens spoke of a “gross mistake” that had been made. "The necessary trust that the responsible budget committee must have in the award decision has been seriously damaged."
The "Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Bundeswehr" (BAAINBw) is based in Koblenz and is responsible for the procurement of all armaments and other items for the Bundeswehr. Including subordinate authorities, the office says it has 10,500 offices. Neither the procurement office nor the Federal Ministry of Defense wanted to comment on the issue. dpa
