Helium Transportation Services
Awarded Limited / Sole Source Justification Posted
- Solicitation number
- 20151544
- Agency
-
Customs and Border Protection
Department of Homeland Security
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- Contract number
- 70B02C25C00000051 Federal contract award
- Awardee
- Navifreight LLC
- NAICS code
- 488510 Freight Transportation Arrangement
- Place of performance
- United States
- Points of contact
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection published this Limited/Sole Source Justification Notice for helium transportation services to support the Tethered Aerostats Radar System (TARS), which provides critical border surveillance capabilities along the U.S. Southern Border, Florida Keys, and Caribbean regions. The contract requires transportation of helium tube trailers to thirteen operational sites (seven TARS sites, two TMSS sites, and four TAS sites) with an estimated thirty-nine roundtrips annually to maintain continuous aerostat operations for 24/7/365 surveillance missions. CBP justified the sole-source award to Navifreight, LLC, a women-owned logistics company, based on their unique qualifications including prior experience transporting helium for CBP and other government agencies, hazmat-certified driver network, and familiarity with aerostat site locations. The justification emphasizes the national security implications of maintaining uninterrupted helium supply, as any disruption could cause a potential national security crisis due to site Non-Mission Capability status. The contract was awarded on June 30, 2025, under contract number 70B02C25C00000051, though the specific award amount was not disclosed in the notice.
Notice text
The Tethered Aerostats Radar System (TARS) provides for long-range search and track of air and surface targets, providing multi-domain awareness to CBP Air Marine
Operations Center (AMOC), Caribbean AMOC (CAMOC), Office of Border Patrol (OBP),
United States Coast Guard (USCG), and the U.S. military. The TARS program is comprised of aerostats, aerostat support systems, radars, weather equipment, communications systems, winch systems, facilities, special purpose vehicles, associated equipment, and personnel necessary to accomplish the mission.
DLA Aerospace Energy (DLA-E) provides helium product to TARS’ seven (7), TMSS’ two (2), and TAS’ four (4) operational sites. All sites require gaseous helium, which is stored in helium tube trailers onsite. Helium provides direct lift aerial support to Aerostat, radar, and other surveillance tools to overcome line of sight constraints to deter illegal activity along the U.S Southern Border, Florida Keys, and portions of the Caribbean. The trailers used to store, transport, and provide helium are required to be available onsite for daily operations, maintenance, lift loss testing and scheduled / unscheduled
inflation to ensure Aerostat stays aloft to support 24/7/365 operations. Based on current and standing operational requirements, TARS estimates an average of thirty-
nine (39) roundtrips annually across TARS’ seven operational sites, TMSS two sites, and TAS four operational sites to sustain and maintain Aerostat Minimum Operating Altitude (MOA) and avoid disruption of site operations, causing a potential national security
crisis due to site Non-Mission Capability (NMC). The end state will be for aerostat sites to have recurring and on demand transportation support. Due to the potential national security crisis, critical nature of this requirement, timeline, resources, and cost, CBP immediately requires a vendor that can meet and exceed the Statement of Work (SOW) requirements to pick up, transport, and deliver helium trailers as scheduled and
unscheduled to ensure the continuation of TARS operations without delay or interruption.
Awarded contract 70B02C25C00000051 to unknown vendor for unknown amount on 2025-06-30.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| Justification and Approval Trailer Transportation_signed_Redacted.pdf |
Notice history
| Notice | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| This notice | Limited / Sole Source Justification | |
| Domain Awareness Persistent Surveillance (DAPS) Helium Trailer Transportation | Pre-Solicitation |
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