*The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) issued a sources sought synopsis (DNDO08-01RFI) for vehicle identification/tracking systems and license plate readers related to its Securing the Cities initiative. DNDO says it is exploring concepts on how to deal with screening in high traffic areas. Under sources sought solicitation, DNDO wants information on commercial off-the-shelf systems that can meet the following requirements: operate in day/night and in all weather; capture and record images of the front/rear license plates of vehicles traveling in excess of 75 mph on an Interstate; extract license plate information from vehicles traveling over 75 mph; obtain and correlate video and or images of the vehicle’s front/back associated with each license plate; store and transfer data to a computer; retrieve and transfer data; and support continuous, automated operation.
*The DHS S&T Directorate in October tested a missile warning system aboard a high-altitude manned aircraft at the White Sands Missile Range, demonstrating that the sensor could detect missile launches from 50,000 feet. The test was done as part of S&T’s Project Chloe, which is investigating the possible use of unmanned aircraft to perform Counter-Man Portable Air Defense System missions around major U.S. airports. Additional manned tests are planned this year and next. The sensor for the recent tests was a TACAIR 2-color prototype supplied by the Naval Research Laboratory. Parallel to that testing, under a Broad Agency Announcement released last year, S&T soon plans to award at least one contract for additional missile warning systems to be used for more testing aboard manned aircraft. This year and next S&T hopes to demonstrate all aspect detection and off axis jamming of man-portable air defense systems using a high-altitude manned research aircraft at government test facilities. S&T spent $8 million on the project last year and plans to spend $10 million on it in FY ’08.
*The Defense Department once again is increasing the ceiling value of its Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) II contract with Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] Savi Technology business unit by $58.5 million to just over $483 million. Additionally, the ordering period for supplies and services is being extended by one year to Jan. 31, 2009. DoD previously doubled the contract value and extended it for two years back in early 2006 (TR2, Feb. 22, 2006). The latest contract extension is needed to continue to provide active RFID tags and related supplies and services for materiel shipments to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The extension will also allow DoD and industry to migrate to an open, non-proprietary standards-based RFID infrastructure.