The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded multiple contracts to support department-wide access to the Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System.
The awards will provide DHS Components with a pathway to acquire C0UAS hardware, software and services that will be tailored to mission needs across fixed-site, mobile, aviation, maritime, aircraft-based, and special mission environments, officials said. The contracts will support a wide variety of C-UAS capabilities including detection, tracking, classification, identification, mitigation, command-and-control integration, training, maintenance, technical support, system integration, and research and development.
“These awards mark an important step in strengthening DHS’s ability to respond to unauthorized and malicious unmanned aircraft systems,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. “By taking a Department-wide approach, we are improving mission readiness, supporting more consistent capabilities, and helping ensure DHS personnel have access to the right tools for the job.”
C-UAS capabilities have historically been procured through separate acquisition efforts, officials said. The current awards are intended to support greater consistency, interoperability, operational flexibility, technology refresh, and lifecycle management across the Department while enabling DHS Components to obtain solutions for their mission requirements.
“As unmanned aircraft systems become more capable and more widely available, DHS needs solutions that can adapt,” Under Secretary for Science and Technology Pedro Allende. said “This effort supports a technology refresh model that will help the Department keep pace with changing threats, emerging tools, and evolving operational requirements.”
Components within DHS expected to use the contracts include the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Protective Service, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the DHS Science and Technology Directorate.