DHS preps industry for communications equipment recompete
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By
Ross Wilkers
The Homeland Security Department has obligated $1.8 billion in order volume in the current iteration and is preparing a final solicitation for the next one.
The Homeland Security Department has provided industry a rough timeline for its plan to conduct the recompete of a contract for commodity communications equipment and services.
DHS awarded the current Tactical Communications II contract, also known as TACCOM II, in 2019 at a $3 billion ceiling over up to five years. Other agencies can also place orders against the contract for products as they are made available through commercial and General Services Administration catalogs.
The department is calling the upcoming iteration TACTICS, short for Tactical Communications and Technical Investigative Comprehensive Solutions, and is eyeing Aug. 3 as the date to release the final solicitation.
Awards for the five-year contract should follow in the third quarter of this calendar year, DHS said in a Friday notice to its Acquisition Planning Forecast System.
Like with the current iteration, TACTICS will have one technical category for equipment and a second focused on services.
Examples of equipment include radios and accessories; communications infrastructure; and maritime, airborne and satellite systems. TACTICS equipment will also cover video, audio and sensor-based devices used for collecting and managing operational data.
The services category encompasses work areas such as maintenance, installation, repair, deployment, spectrum support and project management.
DHS has obligated roughly $1.8 billion in order volume to-date against the current TACCOM II contract that is slated to sunset in May 2027, according to Deltek data. Tribalco, Motorola Solutions, Chartis Consulting Corp., CACI International and ACG Systems are the top five recipients of orders so far.
TACTICS II is also bundling in requirements from a contract called TechOps II, short for Technical Investigative Surveillance Equipment II. But task order activity for TechOps II took place via the NASA SEWP V vehicle for commodity IT needs, which means spending data there is not readily available.