Defence to boost biometric collection capability

Defence is looking to boost its biometric capability with a fleet of handheld devices for collecting and verifying fingerprints, facial images and “other [unspecified] biometric data.”

Prospective suppliers to a request for proposal will demonstrate their solutions “within a deliberate scenario" at a test in June, judged by Defence’s ‘Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group’ (CASG). 

The tools must “fit within ADF field pack.”

The army, navy and airforce will use them for a range of operations “including for patrols, checkpoints and evacuations.”

CASG said it required the devices to upload the fingerprints and facial images “to a centrally located biometrics database".

The solution must “match more than 99 percent of enrolments when matching newly enrolled biometric profile,” and “achieve a match within 25 seconds of completed biometric enrolment against [the] internally stored database," it added.

Defence’s automated biometric information system

In 2012, Northrop Grumman won a $3.8 million one-year contract with ADF to design a proof of concept for its automated biometric information system (ABIS). 

Military personnel can use ABIS to put people of interest on a ‘biometrically enabled watch list’; surveillance systems can identify flagged individuals on battlefields, around borders and at military bases. 

Last year, ADF contracted Leidos to provide security services while ABIS was moved to AWS.