U.S. Customs & Border Protection on June 18 awarded Leidos a five-year, $270 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for up to 100 Medium Energy Mobile Systems (MEMS).
Mounted on truck chassis, the units project 6-MeV X-rays that can scan full 18-wheelers in about 30 seconds, detecting narcotics, weapons, undeclared currency and radiological threats without unloading cargo.
The investment is CBP’s largest technology outlay of FY 2026 and dovetails with DHS’s push for “100 percent non-intrusive inspection” at high-volume land ports by 2028.
Deployments will begin along the Laredo and El Paso corridors before expanding to Florida seaports and the northern border.
![CBP Orders $270 Million Worth of Mobile X-Ray Units From Leidos]()
Cross-border drivers and logistics teams will also need to keep their travel documentation current. VisaHQ can streamline U.S. visa applications for truckers, technicians and executives alike, walking them through every requirement and offering expedited processing where available—details are at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/
Business impact: while faster scans can shorten wait times for trusted-trader shipments, drivers who lack CTPAT or FAST enrollment may face secondary exams if MEMS flag anomalies.
Logistics managers should update standard operating procedures, ensuring cargo manifests match load plans and that electronic sensor data (temps, seals) is easily accessible to CBP officers.
Leidos, already CBP’s largest NII vendor, gains a strong incumbency advantage for follow-on maintenance and data-analytics contracts.
Smaller imaging and AI firms could profit by offering software that triages scan images or integrates MEMS data into port-community systems.
Mounted on truck chassis, the units project 6-MeV X-rays that can scan full 18-wheelers in about 30 seconds, detecting narcotics, weapons, undeclared currency and radiological threats without unloading cargo.
The investment is CBP’s largest technology outlay of FY 2026 and dovetails with DHS’s push for “100 percent non-intrusive inspection” at high-volume land ports by 2028.
Deployments will begin along the Laredo and El Paso corridors before expanding to Florida seaports and the northern border.
Cross-border drivers and logistics teams will also need to keep their travel documentation current. VisaHQ can streamline U.S. visa applications for truckers, technicians and executives alike, walking them through every requirement and offering expedited processing where available—details are at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/
Business impact: while faster scans can shorten wait times for trusted-trader shipments, drivers who lack CTPAT or FAST enrollment may face secondary exams if MEMS flag anomalies.
Logistics managers should update standard operating procedures, ensuring cargo manifests match load plans and that electronic sensor data (temps, seals) is easily accessible to CBP officers.
Leidos, already CBP’s largest NII vendor, gains a strong incumbency advantage for follow-on maintenance and data-analytics contracts.
Smaller imaging and AI firms could profit by offering software that triages scan images or integrates MEMS data into port-community systems.
