US deal: Qinetiq has won a £136m contract to help the US protect its borders
Qinetiq will help the US protect its borders after winning a five-year contract worth £136million.
The British defence group was chosen by the US Department for Homeland Security to run the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS), which provides surveillance capabilities in detecting low-flying aeroplanes as well as tracking and stopping criminals and deadly weapons entering the US.
Qinetiq will deliver the aerostat operations, ground control systems monitoring and data analysis.
The work on TARS will be done by Avantus, a US business it bought from NewSpring Holdings for £483million last year.
Qinetiq boss Steve Wadey said: ‘Winning TARS is another significant and exciting milestone in the US – a clear demonstration of Avantus delivering growth.’
The contract win comes just days after Qinetiq reported a surge in new orders to £953million in the six months to the end of September.
But half-year results also showed that cash flows have been hit by the timing of customer payments, while revenue at Avantus was ‘slower than expected’ partly due to the US congressional budget row holding up contract awards.
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