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QinetiQ US modernizing TARS program through payload optimization 

17/07/2024

Since being awarded 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) IV contract in late 2023, QinetiQ successfully completed and accelerated transition to support national security missions along our southern border without disruption to mission operations.

“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,” Jonathan Riksen, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National & Global Security Solutions at QinetiQ US said when describing the early stages of the program start.

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

QinetiQ’s focus is centered around operations optimization and payload modernization. Speed and efficiency in staying ahead of the technological evolution are made possible through our 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 optimize mission planning and execution.

Having proven process in the aerostat platform and elevated sensing allows our customers to detect, sort, intercept, track, and apprehend criminals in diverse environments at and beyond the U.S. borders.

“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 maximize the value of the systems and do so in a way where it's not burdensome, it's fast, it's agile,” Riksen said.

“We are really trying to bring the modern world of technology into what has been looked at as a legacy program, 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 national security.

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