• Government agencies recognized for engagement with industry

    The Washington Homeland Security Roundtable (WHSR) established the Industry Engagement Awards to recognize exceptional efforts by government agencies to collaborate, engage, and partner with industry. Last year, WHSR recognized both the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Border Patrol for their engagement and programs with industry through WHSR. At their upcoming 4 December holiday reception, WHSR will again recognize various government leaders of DHS component agencies for their contributions to partnering and engaging with industry.

  • Navy blimp returns to Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. skies today

    The U.S. Navy’s only manned airship, a modified American Blimp Corporation A-170 series commercial blimp, will return to the skies of Maryland today, 12 November, to conduct week-long testing of experimental avionics systems.Results of this research may ultimately help protect forward deployed U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops around the globe.

  • DoD ends ambitious blimp program

    The Department of Defensehas decided to end its Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) project.The blimp was supposed to fly for as long as three weeks at a time, gather intelligence using 2,500 pounds worth of the most advanced cameras, sensors, and other intelligence technology. Operating at an altitude of 20,000 feet, the airship was designed to withstand enemy fire with its blend of fabrics, including kevlar. The Pentagon spent $297 million on the airship, but last month sold it back to one of the contractors which built it for $301,000.

  • DHS debars scanner maker from government contracts

    The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has sent OSI Systems, the manufacturer of airport body scanners, a debarment notice which would prevent the company from receiving government contacts in the future. The notice was sent to the company after TSA determined that the company had failed to address security concerns about its scanners.

  • Defense Department drops Blackberry

    The U.S. Department of Defense has opened its mobile communication networks to Apple, Google, and other mobile communication companies.Currently the department handles more than 600,000 mobile devices, of which 470,000 are BlackBerrys, 41,000 are Apple devices, and 8,700 run on Google’s Android system.

  • DHS seeks better ways to detect ultra light aircrafts used by smugglers

    As the war on drugs continues with every sunrise and sunset, DHS has awarded a contract just short of $100 million for a specialized system which will be able to detect ultralight aircrafts which are used to smuggle drugs across the border

  • A third Bell 412 helicopter delivered to NYPD for counterterrorism missions

    The NYPD dedicated many hours to designing the specifications of the department’s third Bell 412 to meet the diverse needs of the police department; one of the counterterrorism additions to the Bell 412 is a radiation detection system that can identify radiation signatures from an altitude of 200 feet in an effort to protect the city from nuclear bomb threats

  • Feds give Colorado access to critical infrastructure info

    The Homeland Security Infrastructure Program (HSIP) compiles about 500 layers of geographic features, including power plants and water pumps; it is managed by DHS, the Pentagon’s National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and the U.S. Geological Survey; the data set is available to state first responders only when federal disasters are declared; DHS has now given Colorado access to the HSIP

  • DHS FY2013 $5.75 billion IT budget request focuses on mobility, data center consolidation

    DHS FY2013 IT spending requests are roughly even with FY2012 levels, with emphasis on commodity IT, mobility, and data center consolidation; the overall 2013 DHS budget request is just under $40 billion; the department’s IT budget request is just over $5.75 billion; down from $5.79 billion in FY2012

  • DHS awards Unisys IT services contract with a total potential value of $3 billion

    Unisys among thirty companies to compete for task orders for infrastructure support and operations and maintenance services under $3 billion contract; Unisys shares were trading sharply higher Wednesday morning after the company released the news about the contract

  • CSC, Knight Point Systems receive DHS mentor- protégé award

    DHS Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) selected two Virginia-based companies, CSC and Knight Point Systems, to receive the 2012 DHS Mentor-Protégé Team of the Year award

  • City of Seattle Fire Department improving firefighter, EMS responses

    New communication system allows Seattle Fire Department to use new voice, video, and wireless by providing secure and fast switching between multiple networks

  • Laser weapon to protect ships from anti-ship missiles

    Northrop Grumman tests next-generation high-energy, solid-state lasers; the test demonstrated that the laser could burn through the skin and critical components of a target drone used to simulate anti-ship cruise missile threats to U.S. Navy ships

  • MRIGlobal awarded $9 million to evaluate detection gear

    Kansas City company in a $9 million contract with the U.S. Army to test and evaluate equipment to identify chemical, biological, and radiological hazards in the field

  • Two RNA-based therapeutic candidates for Ebola, Marburg viruses

    Under a contract for up to $291 million from the U.S. Department of Defense, AVI BioPharma has initiated clinical studies for two RNA-based drugs for the treatment of Ebola and Marburg viruses