Level III Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Background
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is conducting market research through a Request for Information (RFI) to assess the current availability and technological capabilities of vendors to provide Level III Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS). This initiative aims to enhance the U.S. Border Patrol's (USBP) sUAS Program, which is critical for preventing illegal activities at the U.S. borders. USBP's mission includes law enforcement along the U.S. border and between official ports of entry, focusing on maintaining effective control over air, land, and maritime borders.

The agency seeks to identify technologies that can improve surveillance capabilities and situational awareness regarding items of interest illegally entering the United States.

Work Details
CBP is interested in Level III sUAS solutions that support tactical field operations with specific capabilities including:
1. **Operations**:
- Compliance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements.
- Lightweight systems operable by one or two personnel for transportation, setup, and deployment.
- Autonomous operation with minimal agent input.
- Integration of artificial intelligence/machine learning for real-time processing of video and still images to detect, identify, classify, and track items of interest.
- Interoperability with existing systems for wireless data uploads and video streaming.
2. **System Requirements**:
- VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) capabilities adaptable to various deployment modalities (vehicles/vessels/stationary).
- Ability to host multiple sensors/communications.
- Extended flight durations with persistent recording capabilities distributed to team awareness kit (TAK) devices.
- Use cases include vessel-born intelligence, surveillance tower augmentation, checkpoint operations, perimeter security, and approach deterrence.