WASHINGTON — A Pentagon research agency known for its connections to Silicon Valley is asking industry for non-kinetic technologies capable of helping federal authorities disable small, high-speed watercraft encroaching into American waters.
“The use of small watercraft by our nation’s adversaries, including transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and state actors, to smuggle illicit cargo and aliens across the U.S.’s maritime borders presents a growing security challenge,” according to a solicitation published by the
Defense Innovation Unit today.
As such, the “Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of War (DoW) are seeking solutions capable of reliably stopping non-compliant small watercraft without placing undue risk to the DHS/DoW personnel conducting these interdictions, operators/passengers onboard the non-compliant vessel (NCV), and nearby innocent civilians on the water.”
The solution must be operable from a small Coast Guard boat while underway and be mature enough such that the government can begin testing within 60 days.
“This [solution] could be, but is not limited to, localized, non-kinetic energy (e.g., electromagnetic radiation), a novel Electronic Attack (EA) method, or other novel means,” the notice continued. Responses are due by September 30.
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