Defence

QinetiQ modernising US TARS

Posted 17 July 2024

Since being awarded a US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine (AMO) Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) Operations & Maintenance (O&M) IV contract in late 2023, QinetiQ US has completed transition to support national security missions on the US southern border without disruption to mission ops.

Image courtesy QinetiQ

Describing the early stages of the programme, Jonathan Riksen, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National & Global Security Solutions at QinetiQ US said: “We worked really well with the government and internal QinetiQ team to stand up a rapid transition team and get all the factors transitioned safely, without mission interruption.”

Employing tethered aerostats, TARS operators relay vital data to DHS and other organisations to support monitoring real-time border activity in real time. QinetiQ US and its partners operate eight TARS sites, with six over the US-Mexico border, one over the Florida Straits and another over the northern Caribbean area.

QinetiQ’s focus is centred around operations optimisation and payload modernisation. Speed and efficiency in staying ahead of the technological evolution are made possible through its Secure Persistent & Aware Data Ecosystem (SPADE). SPADE provides a near real-time data ecosystem to deliver a cutting-edge, integrated operational picture across a diverse set of missions. SPADE can integrate multiple data sets to proactively optimise mission planning and execution.

Having proven process in the aerostat platform and elevated sensing allows QinetiQ’s customers to detect, sort, intercept, track and apprehend criminals in diverse environments at and beyond the US borders.

Riksen said: “A real important piece for us in this evolution is to always focus on bringing the right levels of automation, the right levels of data analysis, the right levels of modern technology integration into this picture so that we are able to maximise the value of the systems and do so in a way where it's not burdensome, it's fast, it's agile.

“We are really trying to bring the modern world of technology into what has been looked at as a legacy programme, so that we can show the market and the various missions that are in need of this capability, that you can have the best of both worlds and it can work.”

Technologies such as TARS will continue to allow QinetiQ US to support DHS, CBP and AMO in mitigating evolving threats to US national security.