Customs and Border Protection (CBP) awarded Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) a potential $610 million contract to provide the agency with up to 30 multi-mission aircraft that will eventually conduct missions currently carried out by a number of other aircraft. The initial base contract is for $95 million to supply five Multirole Enforcement Aircraft (MEA) and contains four one-year options for up to 30 aircraft over the life of the program. SNC will perform the work at its facility in Hagerstown, Md. “This is a strategic win for us in realizing our diversification objectives into the Homeland Security Department as well as others, like international markets,” Eren Ozmen, president of SNC, said in a statement. The company will integrate a sensor suite into the Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER twin-engine special mission aircraft. The MEA will perform maritime and ground surveillance missions, airborne tracking. The MEA’s sensor suite will include multi-mode radar for automatically detecting and tracking air and surface targets, weather detection, and an electro-optic and infrared sensor for long-range visual search, surveillance and tracking. CBP also wants the MEA to have the flexibility to support ancillary missions such as communications intelligence, logistical support, and training.