DHS Awards Perspecta $112 Million for Continued Data Center Support
The Department of Homeland Security has awarded Perspecta [PRSP] a potential $112 million contract to continue to provide contractor owned and operated data storage and management services to one of the department’s data centers while it is being retired. Perspecta is the incumbent on the contract, which it won in 2015. The new award, announced in June on the government’s procurement website, has a two-year base period and two six-month options and kicks in later this month. In February, DHS said it planned to award Perspecta the contract for the continued services in support of the department’s plan to migrate or retire every system and application within Data Center 2 (DC2). The Department on Friday said that as systems are migrated or retired from the center, costs are expected to decline. The award for continued services for DC2 will allow DHS time to conduct a competition for service at its Data Center 1, which will host many of the system that migrate from DC2. DHS this summer plans to solicit for a competitive Data Center and Cloud Optimization procurement, which will provide data center services, cloud services, and co-location services.
General Dynamics [GD] operates DC1.
Scottish Airport Selects Leidos’ Antimicrobial Tray Technology
Leidos [LDOS] says that Edinburgh Airport in Scotland has awarded the company a contract to upgrade the airport’s checkpoint security tray return systems with antimicrobial tray technology to help minimize the spread of bacteria in the airport. The order is the first for Leidos’ antimicrobial tray technology that limits the spread of bacteria from person-to-surface contact. The value of the contract wasn’t disclosed. Edinburgh Airport has been using Leidos’ automated tray return system since 2012 and the company’s desktop explosive trace detection systems. The antimicrobial technology is built into the security trays during the manufacturing process and continues to work throughout the tray’s lifecycle. Leidos says the technology prevents the reproduction of a wide range of bacteria including staph, E. coli, MRSA and VRE by 99.99 percent.
Maxar Nabs $23M DHS Contract for Vehicle Tracking Analytics
Maxar Technologies [MAXR] has received a potential five-year, $23 million contract from the Department of Homeland Security to provide an analytics system for characterizing and tracking the behavior of vehicles in multiple domains at scale and in near-real time. The company says that with thousands of vehicles moving in and around the U.S. on a daily basis, geospatial operators are challenged with sifting through massive amounts of data to characterize behavior and make decisions. Maxar’s analytics aim to augment operator decision-making by delivering data insights and automating time-consuming tasks, enabling operators to spend more time on mission-critical work. “Maxar is honored to continue demonstrating the art of the possible by applying AI/ML techniques to multi-source, multi-domain data to satisfy unique DHS mission needs,” says Tony Frazier, executive vice president of Global Field Operations at Maxar.
Air Force Awards AeroDefense Contract for Drone Detection System
AeroDefense says it has been contracted by the Air Force to develop a rapidly deployable and ruggedized drone detection system. Under the award, the New Jersey-based drone detection technology company will add mobility to its AirWarden drone detection technology. The contract is through Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst’s 621st Contingency Response Squadron and the 87th Security Forces Squadron under a Small Business Innovation Research grant sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory. “When deploying to an allied country, we need equipment that operates within their regulatory environment, so AeroDefense technology will be crucial in protecting our troops.” Says Lt. Col. Guarini of the 621st. Master Sgt. Kologinsky of the 87th SFS says “We thoroughly evaluated the drone detection market, and AeroDefense’s unique ability to find the pilot fills a critical gap in our ability to defend against unauthorized small unmanned aerial systems.” Last fall AeroDefense said the radio frequency-based AirWarden system had been selected by MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to meet its security needs. AirWarden can detect, locate and track drones and their pilots.
DHS S&T Awards $4M Under Small Business Research Program
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has awarded 26 research contracts worth $3.9 million to 23 small businesses to participate in Phase I of its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Each project funded under Phase I will receive up to $150,000 to conduct proof-of-concept research over six months to address specific homeland security needs. Once Phase I ends, awardees will be eligible to submit proposals for consideration of a Phase II award with the objective being to continue research and development towards a demonstrable prototype. The contracts were awarded in the following topics: Next Generation 9-1-1 Multimedia Content Analysis Engine Capability for the Emergency Communications Cyber Security Center (Accipter Systems, Inc., Physical Optics Corp., SecureLogix, and Terasuma); Remote Sensor Data Protection and Anti-Spoofing (BlueRISC, Inc., Intelligent Automation, Inc., Intellisense Systems, Inc., and Oceanit Laboratories, Inc.); Digital Paging Over Public Television (Desourdis Collaboration, LLC and Device Solutions, Inc.); Soft Targets and Crowded Places Security (AvaWatz Co. and Karagozian & Case); In-Building Coverage Analysis System Using Existing First Responder’s Radio and Smartphone (Epiq Solutions and TRX Systems); Handheld Advanced Detection/Imaging Technology System (Terametrix, LLC, Spectral Labs, Inc., and Synthetik Applied Technologies, LLC); Enhanced Explosives and Illicit Drugs Detection by Targeted Interrogation of Surfaces (ADA Technologies, Inc., Alakai Defense Systems, Inc., Intellisense Systems, and Synthetik Applied Technologies); Urban Canyon Detection Tracking and Identification of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (4D Tech Solutions, Cobalt Solutions, and Moshe Benezra); and Machine Learning Module for Detection Technologies (Alakai Defense Systems, Inc., and Physical Sciences, Inc.).
Tamr Nabs DHS Silicon Valley Award
Tamr Government Solutions has received an$813,000 Phase 5 award from the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate to broaden the company’s application of a screening solution for international travelers to other operational challenges within the department. The award was made under the Silicon Valley Innovation Program, which aims to bring startups and other non-traditional contractors under contract sooner than typical contracting mechanisms. Through the first four phases of the program Tamr developed the open source Global Travel Assessment System (GTAS) that Customs and Border Protection uses to provide foreign border security agencies the ability to screen international air travelers by matching inbound information with existing government data sources. The automated process allows agencies to quickly acquire a more informed view of a person of interest. Now, CBP’s Office of Trade is interested in Tamr’s entity resolution capabilities to help establish a holistic view of trade entities to help predict and identify threats and opportunities to best deliver consequences and facilitate compliant trade and the agency’s Office of Procurement will use the company’s data visualization and machine learning capabilities to identify opportunities for efficiencies and cost savings on CBP contracts.
CBP Acquires JEOL Mass Spectrometers for Lab Use
The U.S.-based division of Japan’s JEOL has received a contract from Customs and Border Protection to provide five of the company’s AccuTOF LC-plus 4G Time-of-Flight mass spectrometers for use as a non-destructive, rapid means to analyze many types of forensic samples such as drugs, suspected controlled substances, unknown substances, and general organic materials. CBP tells HSR the contract is for $1.1 million. JEOL says the mass spectrometers, which are equipped with the company’s Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART) ion sources, will allow CBP labs to quickly screening imported merchandise entering the U.S. CBP had previously acquired and deployed three of the AccuTOF with DART systems.