TSA, Coast Guard to issue sole source biometric contracts

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and U.S. Coast Guard are moving ahead with two planned sole-source biometric procurements.

TSA’s Enrollment Services and Vetting Programs office proposes to modify task order 70T02025F7503N004 under the General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule to procure additional touchless identity verification units from Baltimore, Maryland-based ReliaSource.

The justification describes the action as a sole-source follow-on to an existing competitively awarded order and says the modification would support the new Crewmember Access Point (CMAP) lanes at airports.

CMAP replaces the Known Crewmember (KCM) program aimed at enhancing security with stricter, biometric-enabled screening for flight crews. While initially slated for a late 2025 launch, the transition has been delayed until at least this summer for further testing.

The justification says the modification is for additional touchless identity verification units, along with associated warranty and shipping, deployment activities to install and configure the units, field support during deployment, and hardware and help desk support in the option periods.

TSA says the CMAP touchless identity solution is based on a specific Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate-approved hardware configuration that includes Dell tablets, FLIR cameras and Kowa lenses, and that TSA’s own applications and integration were built around that hardware combination.

The justification also says ReliaSource and its subcontractors are already producing and deploying that validated configuration under the existing task order.

TSA says changing contractors or recompeting the work would require duplicative mobilization and coordination efforts at airports.

The U.S. Coast Guard, through its Acquisition Directorate and the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, and Intelligence Service Center, intends to award a sole-source contract to Parsons Corporation’s InCadence Strategic Solutions for a five-year ordering period to cover sustainment of the Biometrics at Sea System (BASS, 2.0), including 1,009 JavelinXL devices, the Ares Gateway, and Ares software already fielded by the service.

Last September, the Coast Guard awarded a potential $9.7 million an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to InCadence to support BASS.

BASS is a maritime law enforcement tool that collects digital fingerprints, iris scans, and facial images from detainees at sea to identify, screen, and deter unauthorized migration and illegal entry, with data shared with DHS’s Automated Biometric Identification System.

BASS is primarily used during Alien and Migrant Interdiction Operations to identify individuals, check against terrorist watch lists, and support prosecution or repatriation decisions. It is deployed on 23 cutters, primarily in the District 7 Area of Responsibility which includes the Caribbean and Florida region.

In 2023, the Coast Guard began modernizing BASS by replacing outdated devices with rugged commercial off-the-shelf handhelds and enhancing biometric submissions to authoritative databases.

These upgrades have strengthened the Coast Guard’s ability to bolster maritime security, enforce laws, protect borders and counter transnational organized crime and maritime illegal migration.

Deployment of the additional BASS devices will occur in phases, with the first rollout scheduled this summer and continuing through 2027.

According to the new sole source notice, the Coast Guard plans to buy about 500 additional JavelinXL devices with the Ares Gateway and software pre-installed through an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity vehicle with InCadence.

The action would also include replacing about 1,509 cell phones connected to the currently fielded JavelinXL devices as those phones reach end of life.

Interested parties have until April 9, at noon Eastern to submit capability statements and past performance information, but the notice states that if no affirmative written response is received, award may be made without further notice. It also says the notice is not a request for quotes or proposals and that no solicitation will be issued.

Article Topics

airport biometrics  |  biometrics  |  Biometrics at Sea  |  Crewmember Access Point (CMAP)  |  InCadence Strategic Solutions  |  procurement  |  ReliaSource  |  TSA  |  U.S. Coast Guard  |  U.S. Government