Customs and Border Protection (CBP) this week asked interested companies for information on commercially available aircraft that can be outfitted with an integrated sensor suite that is also commercially available to carry out multiple missions currently being performed by several different types of aircraft.
Ultimately CBO hopes to award a single prime contract for the aircraft and integrated mission equipment that would make up the Multi-role Enforcement Aircraft (MEA), CBP says in a Request for Information (RFI) posted in the Aug. 26 FedBizOpps. Responses to the RFI are due by Sept. 29.
The missions that would be performed by the MEA include maritime and ground surveillance, airborne tracking, logistical support and signal intelligence collection. Emphasis is on the maritime and ground surveillance missions, CBP says.
The minimum requirements for the sensor suite include multi-mode radar with automatic capability to detect and track air and surface targets, and provide weather detection, an electro-optic and infrared sensor house in a 360-degree continuous rotation turret for long-range visual search, surveillance and tracking. CBP says the sensor payload must be able to do laser range finding, laser illumination, video, and IR video, sensor tracking, geographic pointing, and automatic focus and tracking.
The aircraft should include a cargo door to facilitate the loading and unloading of the mission equipment system, passenger seats and cargo. It should also accommodate seating for two crew members in the cockpit and at least one, preferably two, sensor operators. In the air and ground interdiction and air mobility roles the aircraft should accommodate the two crewmembers in the cockpit and eight additional tactical team members.
CBP currently operates various fixed and rotary-wing assets including the venerable P-3 maritime surveillance and tracking plane supplied by Lockheed Martin [LMT]. In addition, the agency operates tactical interdiction jets, patrol turboprops, general aviation-style aircraft, a range of helicopters as well as the Predator unmanned aircraft system supplied by General Atomics.
While CBP is exploring its options for a new MEA, the Coast Guard has been procuring its own new maritime patrol aircraft based on a Spanish design with Lockheed Martin doing the sensor integration. [For more information on the CBP MEA, contact: Ronald Rosenberg, contracting officer, 202-344-2985. Sol. No. CBP-CS-RFI-20042385].