DHS looks to put funds toward FBI’s counter-drone training center

Overview

DHS (Department of Homeland Security) is exploring funding mechanisms to support the FBI’s counter-UAS (counter-drone) training center in Alabama and is evaluating whether components such as FEMA, ICE, or others could supply funding or resources. DHS is also discussing establishing a joint counter-UAS task force across its 22 components to expand training capacity and coordinate operations. For contractors, this creates a potential multi-component opportunity spanning counter-UAS technology, training services, and integrated security solutions across homeland-security and law-enforcement mission areas. Action is needed now to position teams for task orders, task force support, and multi-component engagements if DHS moves from planning into funded solicitations or inter-component tasking. Early preparation reduces time-to-proposal when solicitations or intra-agency funding notices appear and helps demonstrate past performance and compliance readiness across the compliance surfaces named in this brief.

Immediate Actions (This Week)

• [ ] Monitor for the official solicitation or funding announcement and DHS/FBI/FEMA/ICE press releases; subscribe to acquisition notices for affected agencies.
• [ ] Map your capabilities (counter-UAS systems, training services, integrated security solutions) to the mission areas described and identify 1–2 prime/teaming roles you can offer.
• [ ] Confirm eligibility and current status on relevant contract vehicles and procurement access lists (EAGLE II, OASIS+, DHS EAGLE, SEWP, GSA (General Services Administration) MAS, DHS FirstSource II).
• [ ] Inventory internal compliance posture against the named compliance surfaces (NIST 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171), CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification), FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program), FISMA, ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), EAR) and identify immediate gaps that would block work for DHS/FBI.
• [ ] Prepare a concise capability statement and modular training outline tailored to counter-UAS training centers and multi-component task forces.

Short-Term Actions (30 Days)

• [ ] Begin outreach to potential primes and subteams with complementary capabilities (training, sensors, integration, logistics) and draft teaming MOUs or letters of intent.
• [ ] Prepare templates and first-draft technical approaches, past-performance summaries, and a cost-rate library so you can respond quickly once a solicitation or task order is released.

Long-Term Actions (90+ Days)

• [ ] Pursue or finalize any required certifications or formal attestations tied to the compliance surfaces most relevant to your offering (e.g., FedRAMP for cloud services, NIST 800-171/CMMC for controlled unclassified information handling).
• [ ] Scale training delivery and demonstration capability (instructors, ranges, training syllabi, scenario packages) and document readiness to support multi-component tasking across DHS components.

Compliance Checklist

• [ ] NIST 800-171 — Assess and document controls for handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information)) relevant to training and sensor data.
• [ ] CMMC — Determine if CMMC alignment or certification is required for any DoD (Department of Defense)-aligned supporting work and plan remediation if needed.
• [ ] FedRAMP — For cloud-hosted training platforms or data repositories, evaluate FedRAMP authorization needs.
• [ ] FISMA — If proposing systems integrated into federal networks or providing agency-hosted services, evaluate FISMA requirements.
• [ ] ITAR / EAR — Review export-control applicability for counter-UAS hardware, sensors, or technical data; implement export-control processes and registrations as needed.

Compliance scope TBD — re-evaluate when official guidance is published for the specific funding instrument or solicitation.

Resources

• DHS — monitor DHS public releases and acquisition notices for funding or tasking details.
• FBI — monitor FBI public announcements related to the counter-UAS training center.
• FEMA / ICE — monitor component-specific acquisition and funding guidance for potential contribution paths.
• Internal guides: Winning Federal Contracts Guide (/insights/winning-federal-contracts), CMMC Compliance Guide (/insights/cmmc-compliance-guide), CUI-Safe CRM Guide (/insights/cui-safe-crm-guide)

How Cabrillo Club Automates This

Cabrillo Signals War Room — Already detected this event and delivered this briefing within minutes. War Room continuously monitors regulatory changes, contract vehicle updates, and policy shifts across federal sources, so it will push follow-on alerts when DHS or component agencies publish formal funding decisions, solicitations, or task-order notices tied to the counter-UAS training center. Use War Room alerts to prioritize immediate bid/no-bid decisions.

Cabrillo Signals Match Engine — When new solicitations, task orders, or funding notices appear, the Match Engine automatically rescales your opportunity pipeline for relevance to counter-UAS, training services, and the listed NAICS codes. It updates match scores, highlights high-priority leads tied to the contract vehicles named in this brief, and reprioritizes opportunities based on agency alignment and your firm’s past performance.

Cabrillo Signals Intelligence Hub — The Intelligence Hub tracks affected agencies, NAICS codes, and contract vehicles and stores the event profile so you can build saved searches and get triggered alerts when related solicitations land on SAM.gov (System for Award Management) or other tracked feeds. Configure a saved search for DHS/FBI counter-UAS tasking, relevant NAICS codes, and your selected vehicles to receive a consolidated feed.

Proposal Studio (Proposal OS) — Proposal Studio generates first-draft technical approaches, compliance matrices, and win-theme libraries using your past performance and the event context. It produces boilerplate training syllabi, staffing plans, and a preliminary cost/price workbook that you can refine. Use Proposal OS to shorten turnaround time from solicitation release to a compliant first draft.

Proposal Studio Workflow Tracker — The Workflow Tracker routes capture activities through a configurable 9-gate capture process: opportunity intake, bid/no-bid, pursuit planning, drafting, compliance review, pricing, final review, submission, and post-submission audit. It automatically assigns tasks to capture leads, compliance, legal, and subcontract managers, tracks supplier certifications, and generates audit-ready documentation for DHS/FBI review.

Next step: open the event in your Cabrillo Signals dashboard, configure saved searches for DHS/FBI counter-UAS tasking, and start a capture in Proposal Studio to lock in teaming and compliance tasks.

Related reading: Winning Federal Contracts Guide (/insights/winning-federal-contracts) · CMMC Compliance Guide (/insights/cmmc-compliance-guide) · CUI-Safe CRM Guide (/insights/cui-safe-crm-guide)