Companies that are within the “competitive range” during the source selection process for the Integrated Fixed Tower (IFT) program will be expected to conduct a live demonstration of their respective systems to mitigate risks to the government in the acquisition of the virtual fence component, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
CBP would like the System Maturity and Deployment Capability Demonstrations (SM&DCD) to be “as operationally relevant as possible,” the agency says in the IFT Request for Proposals (RFP) that was issued last Friday (Defense Daily April 9). Responses are due by May 21. “The SM&DCD is intended to reduce risk by providing a means for the Government to observe the actual performance of the offerors’ proposed IFT systems prior to making a final acquisition decision.”
The RFP includes various attachments such as the requirement for the SM&DCD portion of the competition. The features of the demonstration include demonstrating at least one sensor node, which is the equivalent of a single fixed tower unit consisting of a ground surveillance radar and day/night camera, a communication node and an operator work station.
CBP wants companies to demonstrate as much of their proposed system as possible. If a solution includes video compression among the fixed tower units and the command and control center, then the agency wants this process used during the live demonstration.
Computer representations and simplified models of how a system will work won’t sit well with CBP.
“Modeling and simulation of the IFT system, or its parts, during the SM&DCD is highly discouraged,” CBP says.
The inclusion of a live demonstration phase in the competition is a lesson learned from the acquisition of the IFT predecessor, the Secure Border Initiative Network (SBInet). That program was won by Boeing [BA] without CBP conducting any “fly-off.”
Moreover, after Boeing won, installation and deployment of the initial system, which came to be called Project 28 for the initial 28-mile stretch of border covered by the electronic fence, proved to be troublesome, requiring unexpected development work. In fact, Project 28 changed from being a deployment to a demonstration project for SBInet, which was eventually terminated after Boeing deployed the first 50-plus miles of the virtual fence.
Now, as the IFT program, which doesn’t rely on as many fixed tower systems as envisioned under SBInet, CBP is making it clear that development will not be part of the program.
“First and foremost, CBP is NOT interested in any kind of system development,” the RFP says. “CBP understands it is unlikely that there are existing (non-developmental) systems that meet ALL of its aspirations and desires. Instead, CBP is interested in selecting a non-developmental (and preferably commercially available) system that represents the best mix of capabilities at a reasonable price.”
The goal of the IFT program is to provide the Border Patrol with technology that can provide long-range persistent surveillance in certain border areas. An IFT system consists of varying numbers of the fixed tower units, which include the radar, camera, related communications and power generation systems, as well as separate communications towers, all linked to a command and control center within a specific area of responsibility.
An IFT system is just one component of a virtual fence that will also include cameras mounted on poles, called the Remote Video Surveillance System, cameras and radars mounted on mobile towers, shorter range camera and radar systems that can be transported to a location via truck and set up by one or two Border Patrol agents, as well as unattended ground sensors, unmanned and manned aircraft and other systems.
If CBP ultimately procures an IFT from a vendor, the initial deployment will be in the Nogales, Ariz., Area of Responsibility (AOR). The contract would contain options for five additional AORs within Arizona. The planned period of performance of the contract, which includes maintenance, is for 8.5 years. CBP expects an IFT system to be deployed within one year of award of a contract or option.
CBP has high expectations for the capabilities of any IFT system that it procures. Automatic detection and tracking of items of interest (IoI) as well as a “Blue Force” tracking capability are all part of the expected solution.
An IFT system should “Without operator intervention, detect and track the following IoIs with an AoC (Area of Coverage): any humans traveling on foot (alone and in groups), humans traveling on animals (alone and in groups), and moving ground conveyances (such as ATVs, motorcycles, automobiles and trucks),” the RFP says. The system is also expected to report detections to the operator workstation in near real-time while also providing near real-time video of any operator-selected IoI within the AoC.
To help manage the response to an incursion of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States, the IFT solution will include the ability to track individual Border Patrol agents and their vehicles as they move in to interdict illegal border crossers. Border agents will be marked in blue with suspect IoIs in red.
The RFP describes how this would work, providing situational awareness to agents in the field.
“The workstation operator [in a command and control center] notifies agents of one fleeing suspect who has stopped running and has found cover in the brush,” the RFP says. “The workstation operator uses the system’s motion detection capability option to locate the hiding IoI’s subtle movements within the video scene.”
CBP continues to desire an open systems approach to the IFT program so that over time it can relatively easily install cameras and radars made by different vendors without being locked into the original prime contractor’s solution.