RFI Northern Border IST - SAM.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)/MARKET RESEARCH

Autonomous Integrated Surveillance Tower Solution for the Northern Border Posted on SAM.gov.

Purpose: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), Program Management Office Directorate (PMOD) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to identify industry capabilities for providing an autonomous Integrated Surveillance Tower (IST) solution for the Northern Border operating environment, with initial focus on the Grand Forks Sector. CBP may consider a voluntary, no-cost market research demonstration in the Grand Forks Sector to inform requirements development and acquisition planning. The Government seeks information from qualified vendors capable of designing, deploying, integrating, operating, and supporting an autonomous IST system that can meet USBP mission essential tasks in extreme cold weather and other Northern Border conditions. The information received may support acquisition planning for a potential indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract to one (1) or more contractors to plan, procure, deploy, and sustain approximately 240 towers.

Point of Contact (POC) Information: All inquiries, questions, or comments regarding this RFI must be submitted in writing via email to the Contracting Officer. To ensure a fair and transparent process, vendors are strictly prohibited from contacting other CBP or DHS personnel regarding this RFI..

Primary Point(s) of Contact:

1. Fang-Ting Manson, Contracting Officer, fang-ting.manson@cbp.dhs.gov

2. Richard Lambert, Autonomous Systems Integration and Management Branch Chief, IST

Portfolio, Richard.Lambert@cbp.dhs.gov

Submission Instructions:

o Due date and time. September 1, 2026, 5:00 p.m. EDT o Vendor Participation. Vendors interested in participating in a voluntary, no-cost market research demonstration must request to participate. Participation or non-participation in any demonstration will not affect eligibility for any future solicitation.

o Submission format. Responses should be submitted in Microsoft Word or searchable PDF format.

o Page limits. Responses should not exceed ten (10) pages.

o Submission method. via email to the Contracting Officer and ASIM Branch Chief o All correspondence must include the RFI reference number in the subject line.

Required Content: Vendors are required to provide:

o Company name, CAGE code, and business size/socioeconomic status.

o Capabilities statement relevant to the requirement.

Vendors are encouraged to answer all questions. Failure to answer a question may limit the Government’s ability to assess the response for market research purposes but will not, by itself, affect eligibility to participate for any future solicitation.

Proprietary Information: Vendors should avoid submitting proprietary information unless it is necessary to respond to this RFI. Responses should clearly mark any proprietary information.

Information received may be used by the Government for market research, requirements refinement, acquisition planning, and assessment of potential demonstration or pilot activities.

The Government will honor proprietary claims if clearly marked by the respondent.

Response Date and Submission Instructions: Responses to this RFI must be submitted no later than 5:00 PM EDT on September 1, 2026. Submissions received after this deadline may not be reviewed.

Please ensure that the response is concise and directly addresses the technical requirements, including the Threshold (T) and Objective (O) parameters outlined in this document.

Disclaimer: This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation in the future. This request does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Furthermore, the U.S. Government is not, at this time, seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals.

Respondents are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. Any demonstration conducted in response to this RFI will be informational only. Demonstration participation, non-participation, or results will not be used as the basis for award, exclusion, competitive range determination, down-select, or eligibility for any future procurement.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)/MARKET RESEARCH

Autonomous Integrated Surveillance Tower Solution for the Northern Border

1. Purpose

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S.

Border Patrol is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to identify industry capabilities for providing an autonomous Integrated Surveillance Tower (IST) solution for the Northern Border operating environment, with initial focus on the Grand Forks Sector.

The Government seeks information from qualified vendors capable of designing, deploying, integrating, operating, and supporting an autonomous IST system that can meet U.S. Border Patrol mission essential tasks in extreme cold weather and other Northern Border conditions.

This RFI is for market research only. It is not a solicitation, request for proposal, or commitment by the Government to issue a future procurement. Any demonstration associated with this RFI is voluntary, at no cost to the Government, and for market research purposes only. Participation or non-participation will not determine eligibility for any future solicitation.

2. Background

U.S. Border Patrol is deploying autonomous IST to improve border security and domain awareness. The next phase of the IST Program is to assess whether industry can provide an autonomous IST solution tailored to the Northern Border, where environmental and infrastructure conditions differ significantly from other border environments.

The desired IST solution should provide surveillance data, system status information, and actionable alerts to the Government’s command and control environment, including the Operational Picture for Tactical Intelligence and Control (OPTIC), and receive command and control instructions from a government system. The Government will provide applicable interface requirements, integration guidance, cybersecurity requirements, and other technical information necessary to support integration with OPTIC during the appropriate phase of the acquisition or implementation process.

3. IST Typical Operating Conditions:

These conditions occur frequently at or near the U.S. border and may affect the IST System’s ability to detect, track, identify, and classify items of interest.

• Lighting: Natural ambient lighting ranges 24 hours from daylight to complete darkness.

• Temperature: Typical ambient daytime and nighttime operating temperatures range from

127°F to -17°F (Operational Requirements Document). Temperatures may exceed or fall below this range.

• Wind: Typical sustained winds average 10 mph, with intermittent gusts up to 15 mph or higher for short durations.

• Optical Line-of-Sight Visibility: Visibility ranges from clear to partially obstructed due to rain, dust, smoke, fog, terrain, or similar conditions. Visibility may be reduced to 50% to 95% for 1 to 3 seconds and may fall below typical values.

• Salt Fog: 5%.

• Atmospheric Optical Turbulence and Scintillation: Typical atmospheric optical turbulence is 5.0E-14 Cn², though conditions may vary beyond this value.

4. Timeline

The October 2026 market research demonstration timeframe is deliberately timed to capture operational system performance in Northern Border winter conditions. Any information collected would be used for market research, requirements refinement, and acquisition planning only.

This timeline also aligns with the pre-deployment lead time required for subsequent IST redeployment activities. Site readiness typically requires three (3) to six (6) months, and complex federal-land, environmentally sensitive, or access-constrained sites may require six (6) to nine

(9) months or longer. Beginning early allows CBP to identify and resolve site-level issues before vendor equipment and field resources are committed. Therefore, initiating the RFI market research and prototype demonstration now supports two objectives simultaneously:

(1) positioning the prototype to generate meaningful winter performance data from October 2026 through February 2027, and

(2) providing the lead time necessary to mature site readiness and reduce schedule risk for subsequent IST redeployment.

The following are the planned dates that support this timeline:

• RFI Reponses requested NLT August 26, 2026

• If CBP proceeds with a voluntary market research demonstration, demonstration systems must be deployed between October 1 and October 16, 2026, subject to Government coordination, site readiness, and vendor interest.

• Data collection will run through approximately February 2027

• Vendors can retrieve their towers by end of March 2027

• Notional future milestones (subject to change), if CBP proceeds with a separate solicitation and award:

a. Issue draft solicitation February 2027

b. Northern Border Contract award by May 2027

c. Projected deployment could begin as early as FY28 Q1 or sooner, with confirmation due by October 16th subject to acquisition schedule, funding availability, award timeline, testing outcomes, and operational readiness requirements.

5. Objective

The Government seeks information on autonomous IST solutions that can:

1. Detect, identify, classify, and track items of interest in the Northern Border environment.

2. Operate in extreme cold, snow, ice, wind, precipitation, fog, darkness, and other environmental conditions.

3. Provide autonomous surveillance with reduced operator burden.

4. Support fixed, relocatable, or locally leveraged infrastructure configurations.

5. Provide reliable power, communications, edge processing, and system health monitoring.

6. Integrate with Government command and control systems (OPTIC).

7. Support a potential demonstration in the Grand Forks Sector to begin no later than

October 16, 2026.

6. Notional IST System Description

An IST system shall include the following subsystems and support elements.

6.1. Tower

The tower subsystem may include fixed towers, relocatable towers, mast systems, or use of existing infrastructure. The structure should elevate sensors and communications equipment to improve line of sight over terrain, buildings, vegetation, snow accumulation, and other obstructions.

6.2. Power

The power subsystem should provide reliable power for sensors, communications, computing, and site support equipment. Solutions may include utility power, solar, batteries, fuel cells, generators, hybrid systems, or other approaches suitable for remote and cold weather operations.

6.3. Instrumentation and Autonomy

The instrumentation subsystem may include electro-optical cameras, infrared cameras, radar, autonomous sensors, site security cameras, edge computing hardware and software, pan-tilt units, laser illuminators, and other technologies.

The Government is interested in solutions that can autonomously detect, identify, classify, and track humans, animals, conveyances, and unknown objects; reduce false alarms; and present actionable information to operators.

6.4. Communications

The communications subsystem should provide secure, reliable, and bandwidth-efficient exchange of surveillance data, alerts, system health information, and command instructions.

Potential approaches may include microwave, fiber, commercial internet, cellular, satellite communications, mobile ad-hoc networks, relay towers, or Communications as a Service.

6.5. Site Infrastructure and Security

The solution may include ruggedized cabinets, equipment shelters, fencing, site security cameras, intrusion or vibration alarms, grounding, lightning protection, environmental protection, and other infrastructure needed to protect and sustain the system.

7. Northern Border Operating Environment

The proposed solution must be suitable for Northern Border operations, including the Grand Forks Sector or comparable areas. Vendors should address performance and limitations under conditions such as:

1. Extreme cold temperatures.

2. Snow, ice, freezing rain, and snow accumulation.

3. High winds.

4. Fog, precipitation, and atmospheric obscuration.

5. Daylight, darkness, twilight, and variable lighting.

6. Seasonal vegetation, terrain, agricultural activity, and wildlife.

7. Remote locations with limited power, communications, and access.

Vendors should identify any environmental limitations, degraded operating modes, maintenance impacts, or installation constraints.

8. Desired Surveillance Performance

The Government is interested in solutions capable of meeting or exceeding the following notional land surveillance performance objectives. Vendors should identify the conditions under which these ranges can be achieved, including target type, sensor height, terrain, weather, lighting, vegetation, and system configuration.

Surveillance Task Desired Effective Surveillance Range Threshold (T): Objective (O)

Autonomous Detect 5 miles (T); 7.5 miles (O) Autonomous Identify 5 miles (T); 7.5 miles (O) Classify 1 mile Autonomous Track 5 miles (T); 7.5 miles (O)

These performance objectives are provided for market research purposes only and do not constitute evaluation factors, minimum eligibility requirements, or source selection criteria for any future procurement.

9. Requested Vendor Response

Vendors are requested to provide concise responses addressing the following areas.

1. Company and Experience Provide company name, point of contact, business size, relevant contract vehicles, and experience providing surveillance, autonomous sensing, border security, or cold weather solutions.

2. Proposed Solution

Describe the proposed autonomous IST solution, including major tower/platform, sensor, power, communications, computing, and site support components. Identify whether the solution is currently deployed, commercial, developmental, or prototype.

3. Mission Essential Task Performance

Describe how the solution autonomously supports detect, identify, classify, and track tasks in the Northern Border environment. Include expected ranges, false alarm reduction approach, target types, and any known limitations.

4. Northern Border Suitability

Describe the solution’s ability to operate in extreme cold, snow, ice, wind, fog, precipitation, darkness, limited infrastructure, and remote locations.