Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shortly plans to begin conducting technology evaluations of two Insitu-made medium unmanned aircraft systems (mUASs) to meet certain light surveillance missions.
The technology demonstrations will begin in April and include the ScanEagle and Blackjack mUAS, which have been acquired through the Defense Department’s reuse program. CBP says that an “analysis of alternatives identified a medium unmanned aerial system as a viable low-cost solution for certain LEP (Light Enforcement Platform) missions.”
Insitu is a business unit of Boeing [BA]. Within the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard’s fleet of high-endurance national security cutters deploy with ScanEagle systems.
The demonstrations will be conducted by CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO) and will occur at two locations, beginning in late April and running through late June in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, and then in Van Horn, Texas from late August through late September. CBP said in a notice published in the government procurement site Sam.gov on March 3.
CBP AMO is “evaluating and testing to document the capabilities of ScanEagle and Blackjack medium UAS equipment,” an agency spokeswoman told Defense Daily.
In the same notice, CBP said it plans to award Insitu a contract for technical assistance and field support to help with the demonstrations, which the agency will conduct. The estimated value of the award was redacted.
The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have used the Blackjack and ScanEagle systems. The Blackjack can stay airborne for longer than 24 hours and has a maximum payload weight of 40 pounds. The ScanEagle has an 18-hour endurance and an 11-pound maximum payload capacity. Both aircraft are catapult launched.
CBP already operates a small fleet of MQ-9 Predator UAS, which have a far greater payload capacity than the two Insitu drones that agency is evaluating, and smaller man-portable drones. The agency also operates a number of fixed and rotary-wing manned aircraft, including the H125 light enforcement helicopters built by Airbus Group‘s Airbus Helicopters division.
CBP’s Air and Marine Operations Vision 2025 calls for deploying next-generation light surveillance aircraft, including manned and/or unmanned.