CBP - Integrated Surveillance Towers (IST)
Investment ID: 024-000005289
Overview
Program Title
CBP - Integrated Surveillance Towers (IST)
Description
The Integrated Surveillance Towers (IST) investment procures, deploys, operates, and sustains persistent surveillance tower capability across the northern and southern borders of the United States. The Program will consist of a consolidation of four existing acquisition programs: Remote Video Surveillance System-Upgrade (RVSS-U), Integrated Fixed Towers (IFT), Northern Border-Remote Video Surveillance System (NB-RVSS), and Autonomous Surveillance Towers (AST). The purpose of IST will be to deploy/upgrade approximately 500 integrated surveillance towers, build/renovate command and control (C2Cen) centers, and invest in 4 subsystems: Tower, Power, Instrumentation and Communications. These 4 subsystems exchange data and commands, then pass data to USBP C2CEN or Common Operating Picture. The anticipated benefits are to improve agent safety, increase situational awareness and persistent surveillance capabilities. IST supports Line of Business (LOB) 1: Secure America's Borders.
Type of Program
Major IT Investments
Multi-Agency Category
Not Applicable
Investment Detail
Although the IST program has not currently finalized the ROI, the ROI has been identified for IFT and RVSS-U.
Compared to the baseline operating costs from which the return on investment (ROI) was calculated for the period FY12 FY23 (one border patrol agent per one mile of border in Arizona, 24/7), the operating costs for IFT system (were estimated to be considerably lower ($358.3M vs. $2,104.1M). ROI was calculated as Operating Costs without IFT (in the amount of $1,870M) and Operating Costs with IFT (in the amount of $319M) divided by the Capital Investment costs (totaling $423M) providing the same level of surveillance.
The RVSS-U Adjusted Current LCCE Through End of FYHSP corresponded to the $624.2M value which was the objective cost value in TY$. Therefore, the APB equivalent estimate reflected an affordable case. The CBA documented an ROI of 1,092% over the course of the program. The CBA also documented the Breakeven Point as occurring quickly in FY2014, due to low annual costs.
The key benefit is that for a lower overall operating cost, the IST system will provide the Border Patrol with a persistent mid and long range surveillance capability, which will enable them to detect, identify, classify and track Items of Interest (IoIs), thus enabling them to monitor an Area of Interest more efficiently and effectively. Qualitative benefits include: facilitates mission accomplishment; it allows agents to be realigned since surveillance technology act as a force multiplier; agents will be safer since fewer will be needed in the field for surveillance and successful law enforcement. Finally establishing a single surveillance tower program provides a single point for USBP operational requirements and mission priorities. A single program of record eliminates multiple administrative reporting, business operations and contracting functions. Additional benefits include maintaining low logistics support costs, and high operational availability (Ao) for all included technologies: greater than or equal to 95% Ao for metric ID 142742, 142743, 142745, 142746.
Compared to the baseline operating costs from which the return on investment (ROI) was calculated for the period FY12 FY23 (one border patrol agent per one mile of border in Arizona, 24/7), the operating costs for IFT system (were estimated to be considerably lower ($358.3M vs. $2,104.1M). ROI was calculated as Operating Costs without IFT (in the amount of $1,870M) and Operating Costs with IFT (in the amount of $319M) divided by the Capital Investment costs (totaling $423M) providing the same level of surveillance.
The RVSS-U Adjusted Current LCCE Through End of FYHSP corresponded to the $624.2M value which was the objective cost value in TY$. Therefore, the APB equivalent estimate reflected an affordable case. The CBA documented an ROI of 1,092% over the course of the program. The CBA also documented the Breakeven Point as occurring quickly in FY2014, due to low annual costs.
The key benefit is that for a lower overall operating cost, the IST system will provide the Border Patrol with a persistent mid and long range surveillance capability, which will enable them to detect, identify, classify and track Items of Interest (IoIs), thus enabling them to monitor an Area of Interest more efficiently and effectively. Qualitative benefits include: facilitates mission accomplishment; it allows agents to be realigned since surveillance technology act as a force multiplier; agents will be safer since fewer will be needed in the field for surveillance and successful law enforcement. Finally establishing a single surveillance tower program provides a single point for USBP operational requirements and mission priorities. A single program of record eliminates multiple administrative reporting, business operations and contracting functions. Additional benefits include maintaining low logistics support costs, and high operational availability (Ao) for all included technologies: greater than or equal to 95% Ao for metric ID 142742, 142743, 142745, 142746.