By Calvin Biesecker
With over $1.5 billion to spend on airport modifications, security technology and grants using economic stimulus funds, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expects to award most contracts in the fourth quarter of FY ’09 and the first half of FY ’10, according to information on the White House Recovery.Gov web site.
Most of the DHS funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will be obligated by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which lists its plans to spend nearly $1 billion, more than half of which will be for modifying facilities at 16 airports. TSA has $700 million within the Electronic Baggage Screening Program (EBSP), $600 million of which will go toward installing high-speed baggage handling systems and the purchase of in-line Explosives Detection Systems (EDS).
The in-line systems are produced by General Electric [GE] and L-3 Communications [LLL]. Reveal Imaging Technologies, which also provides EDS to TSA, typically is contracted for reduced-size systems found at smaller airports. Facility modification projects are slated to start at three airports by the end of June with the rest occurring in either the fourth quarter of FY ’09 or the second quarter of FY ’10.
Of the remaining EBSP funds, $60 million are pegged for reduced-size EDS and $40 million for program operations and maintenance. Reveal earlier this month received a $47 million contract with funds from ARRA. No schedule is provided on Recovery.Gov for when the remaining funds will be contracted. L-3 also has a TSA-certified reduced-size EDS system.
TSA has about $300 million to spend related to passenger screening. The timing of contract awards isn’t listed although the agency recently awarded OSI Systems [OSIS] $3 million for Advanced Technology (AT) X-ray systems used to screen carry-on bags at checkpoints.
TSA has $130 million overall to spend on AT X-ray systems using ARRA funds. Information on Recovery.Gov says these monies will be competitively awarded but as of now the only other TSA certified AT X-ray equipment is made by Britain’s Smiths Detection in Germany. “Buy American” provisions in ARRA limit contracts to firms manufacturing their equipment in the United States.
DHS also provides a breakout of its planned spending on other passenger screening systems, including $30 million for Whole Body Imagers (WBI), $95 million for operations and management support services, $18 million for next-generation trace explosives detectors and $8 million for advanced closed-circuit television surveillance systems. L-3 currently provides the bulk of WBIs to TSA although the agency is in the midst of a competition for additional systems. Currently only GE and Smiths Detection have new trace detectors certified by TSA.
TSA also lists Bottled Liquid Scanners (BLS) as proposed purchase items but no award amounts are given. ICx Technologies [ICXT] provides TSA with BLS systems currently.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has at least $620 million to spend with ARRA funds, most of it on construction at land ports of entry. Contract awards totaling $420 million for these construction projects are expected in August.
CBP also has $100 million to spend on X-ray systems used to peer inside containers, trucks and other vehicles. Nearly $87 million of these funds are slotted for large scale non-intrusive inspection systems and the remaining money on small-scale systems. Most of the money for the large scale systems is expected to be under contract in the first quarter of FY ’10 and the rest in the fourth quarter of FY ’09. For the small scale systems, most of the contracts are expected to be awarded in the fourth quarter of FY ’09 and the rest early in FY ’10.
CBP also has $100 million to spend on the Secure Border Initiative (SBInet) technology program. Half of the money will go for border security related technology, and most, if not all of that, to SBInet prime contractor Boeing [BA]. The other half of the funds will go toward tactical communications radios. Contracts and task orders are expected to be awarded in the fourth quarter of FY ’09 and first quarter of FY ’10.
DHS has over $200 million to spend on Assistance to Firefighter Grants, which are used in the construction and modification of fire houses. Awards here are expected early next year.