QinetiQ US Awarded $170M U.S. Customs and Border Protection contract for Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS)

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QinetiQ US Awarded $170M DHS CBP TARS Operations & Maintenance Contract

Positive

• QinetiQ US awarded a $170M contract by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide Operations & Maintenance for the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS).
• The contract includes one base year and four option years, demonstrating a long-term commitment and partnership between QinetiQ US and CBP.
• The TARS program will enhance air, land, and maritime domain awareness, enabling proactive and persistent detection and deterrence capabilities.

Negative

• None.

To support national security missions along the southern border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection awards TARS to Avantus Federal (now QinetiQ US).

MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- QinetiQ US, has received a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine (AMO) Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Operations & Maintenance (O&M) III contract, comprising one base with four option years, valued at $170M.

The team will provide operations and sustainment efforts on the TARS program which will include air, land, and maritime domain awareness and enabling a proactive and persistent detection and deterrence capability. The scope of work will also include aerostat operations, air-surface radar operations, ground control and data networking systems monitoring, and data analysis to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the program. This capability is an integral part of the mission to detect, sort, intercept, track, and apprehend criminals in diverse environments at and beyond the U.S. borders.

"The CBP TARS program adds to our decades plus support to DHS and the CBP mission at our borders, while also providing us the opportunity to pull from our expansive C5ISR portfolio, specifically in persistence surveillance," said Shawn N. Purvis, President, and CEO of QinetiQ US. "With a strong history and depth of expertise in national security initiatives, we are proud to be selected to help advance the mission of the CBP through the TARS program."

Employing tethered aerostats, TARS operators relay vital data to DHS to support monitoring border activity in real time. This data is also shared with the U.S. military and law enforcement partners conducting related air, land, and maritime missions. QinetiQ US and its partners will operate eight TARS sites, with six over the U.S.-Mexico border, one over the Florida Straits, and another over the northern Caribbean area.

"With the threat landscape changing rapidly and demands on domain awareness capabilities increasing, we will use a mission-first, data driven approach to modernize the TARS capability and maintain operations. Leveraging the expertise of partners C Speed, LLC, Elevated Technologies, LLC, and Skyship Services, Inc., we will bring best in class, end-to-end persistence surveillance capability to support some of the nation's most critical national security missions," said Jonathan Riksen, Executive Vice President over QinetiQ's support of DHS missions. "Our men and women protecting our borders are dealing with evolving threats from our advisories and we are proud to join CBP to both sustain and enhance operations to protect against these threats."

About QinetiQ US

QinetiQ US is a leading defense and national security company providing mission-led, customer focused engineering and innovative solutions for next generation ISR, advanced cyber technology, mission operations and multi-domain autonomous systems to deliver a decisive and actionable information advantage and counter near peer adversaries. 

As a provider of secure, technologically advanced services and products to the US Department of Defense, Homeland Security, Intelligence Community and other national security agencies, QinetiQ US is committed to closely partnering with our customers to enable them to deploy new and enhanced capabilities that protect lives and our nation's vital interests.

QinetiQ US operates as the U.S. arm of QinetiQ Group plc (QQ.LSE), a global integrated defense and security company focused on innovation for defense, security and civil customers around the world. QinetiQ US employees are based predominantly in Virginia and Massachusetts and operate under a Special Security Agreement (SSA) with the U.S. Defense Counterintelligence & Security Agency (DCSA).

Visit our website us.qinetiq.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @QinetiQUS.

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SOURCE QinetiQ

FAQ

What is the value of the contract awarded to QinetiQ US by CBP?

The contract is valued at $170M, comprising one base year with four option years.

What is the scope of work for the TARS program?

The scope of work includes aerostat operations, air-surface radar operations, ground control and data networking systems monitoring, and data analysis to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the program.

How many TARS sites will QinetiQ US and its partners operate?

QinetiQ US and its partners will operate eight TARS sites, with six over the U.S.-Mexico border, one over the Florida Straits, and another over the northern Caribbean area.