The Department of Homeland Security says it plans to notify small businesses on or about Aug. 3 if they’ve been selected for a chance to compete in Phase I of the FirstSource III small business information technology program, which is estimated to be worth $10 billion over 10 years. The Phase I down-select notices had been planned for Sept. 1 but were delayed due to having to review a large number of proposals, 637 offers from 325 vendors. DHS says updates for the second phase of the program are forthcoming. The FirstSource II contract vehicle was awarded in 2012 to 40 companies.
Customs and Border Protection
, in partnership with Carnival Cruise Line, has introduced facial comparison technology to the debarkation process at the Port of Baltimore. Travelers departing the ship pause for photo that is compared to their facial image on their travel document within two seconds. CBP says the technology is more than 98 percent accurate. The facial biometric technology is deployed at 14 seaports across the U.S. to enhance security and process arriving passengers. The agency says that the technology has prevented more than 1,500 impostors using genuine travel documents from illegally entering the U.S. at air and land ports of entry.
Fortem Technologies has been selected by the Qatari Ministry of Interior and Safety and Security Operations Committee to provide counter-drone solutions for the FIFA World Cup events in Qatar between Nov. 21 and Dec. 28. Fortem will supply its SkyDome system, which includes the TrueView radar, and the DroneHunter interceptor drone to classify and mitigate threats autonomously. Fortem’s distribution partner on the deal is Smart Communications Systems.
The Transportation Security Administration plans to award IDEMIA a four-year sole-source contract to provide maintenance support, cybersecurity, and engineering support services for 1,001 fielded credential authentication technology units. The current contract with IDEMIA expired in June. IDEMIA is the prime contractor for the CAT systems. TSA expects to issue a competitive solicitation for the next-generation CAT-2 systems in fiscal year 2022.