TSA Awards Accenture $199M for Secure Flight Support
The Transportation Security Administration has awarded Accenture’s [ACN] Federal Services subsidiary a potential 10-year, $199 million contract to continue providing a range of information technology services in support of the agency’s Secure Flight system. The award has a base-year and nine one-year options. Accenture Federal Services has been responsible for Secure Flight program delivery since Nov. 2018. “TSA’s Secure Flight System identifies low and high-risk passengers before they arrive at the airport,” says Maurine Fanguy, AFS managing director and DHS lead. “It does this by synching up watchlist and intelligence automation against traveler information and passenger reservation data. AFS will enhance the system by incorporating emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning into this mission-critical program.”
TSA Planning Contract to Liberty Defense to Test HD-AIT Kits
The Transportation Security Administration Office of Requirements Capabilities and Analysis (RCA) plans to award a sole-source contract to Liberty Defense for the development and production of High Definition-Advanced Imaging Technology (HD-AIT) wide band upgrade kits. The RCA office plans to purchase the kits for testing, demonstration and evaluation. Under an exclusive license with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Liberty is working to commercialize its HD-AIT millimeter wave body scanner for upgrades to existing AIT systems or for new deployments in airports, and a footwear screener that is also based on millimeter wave technology. Liberty says the HD-AIT improves image clarity, which reduces the need for pat downs, and also allows for an arms down stance in the imaging scanner.
CBP Adds $36M to SAIC Contract for Land Border Integration Initiative
Customs and Border Protection has increased the ceiling to $75 million for Science Applications International Corp.’s [SAIC] contract that automates the process for screening travelers and vehicles entering and leaving the U.S. through the agency’s ports of entry, including through Border Patrol checkpoints, rail and ferry lines, and bus and cruise ship terminals. The $36.4 million increase to the ceiling extends the contract through Jan. 31, 2023 and sustains the support under the Land Border Integration (LBI) Integrated Traveler Initiative (ITI) for seven months until the follow-on ITI2 recompete is awarded. The ITI2 acquisition is in the evaluation phase.
DHS S&T Awards $10M to Small Businesses for Prototypes
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has awarded $9.8 million in total to small business to further develop various technologies for Phase II contracts as part of the Small Business Innovation Research program. Each recipient was awarded about $1 million to build and demonstrate a prototype within the next two years. The technology categories and awardees are: Non-invasive breathalyzer detection system to screen for the presence of viral respiratory infections (N5 Sensors, Inc. and Triton Systems, Inc.); 5G &Wi-Fi6/6E coexistence for secure federal networks (Pallindrome Technologies); Improved curved transparent ceramic structural components (Surmet Corp.); Vehicle infectious disease protection (MagPlasma, Inc.); Amphibious XTV for ice rescue (Triton Systems, Inc.); Artificial intelligence to augment the 911 telecommunicator function (SecureLogix); Software supply chain identification for compiled binary executables (Oceanit Laboratories); Intelligent document design: combatting industry trends incentivizing weak security (Intelligent Payload Solutions, Inc.); and High-throughput non-ionizing screening capability for identifying contraband (Spectrom Inc.).
DHS S&T Awards $5M for to 30 Small Businesses for R&D
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has awarded 30 small companies a combined $4.5 million in Phase 1 research contracts under the Small Business Innovation Research program to meet homeland security challenges. Each business is receiving up to $150,000 for proof-of-concept research over five months. The research topics and awardees are: Automated AI distress alerts and monitoring (Eduworks Corp., Vadum, Inc. and Sonalysts, Inc.); Rapidly deployable countermeasures at protected perimeters and structures (Maritime Arresting Technologies and Polaris Sensors Technologies); Non-invasive and real-time detection of counterfeit microelectronics (Caspia Technologies, Onyx Spectrum Technology, and Intellisense Systems, Inc.); Broadband push-to-talk interoperability platform (Catalyst Communications Technologies, Inc., Mutulink, Inc., Tango Tango, and Tiami, LLC): A step toward agent agnostic detection of biological hazards (Novateur Research Solutions, LLC, IDEM, LLC, and Caelum Research Corp.); Streamlined airport checkpoint screening for limited mobility passengers (Spectral Labs Inc., and Analytical AI, LLC); Mass Fatality Tracking System (Defender LLC, Liebold Technologies, LLC, and Yotta Navigation); Next generation high-performance, low-cost, semiconductor-based spectroscopic personal radiation detectors (CapeSym, Inc., and Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc.); Field Forward Detection Platform for High Consequence Toxins (Nanohmics, Inc.; and Precisyx, LLC); Person-worn detector for aerosolized chemical threats (Design West Technologies, Inc., Makel Engineering, Inc., and N5 Sensors, Inc.); From port-side to pen-side: low-cost detection/diagnostics for high-consequence transboundary or nationally reportable animal diseases, particularly those with zoonotic propensity (Luna Labs USA, LLC, Lyntech, Inc., and TDA Research, Inc.).