Leidos CEO Tom Bell described how the company works with the Department of Homeland Security to secure major public events, pointing to its role at the FIFA World Cup and explaining how its technology detects and counters drones during a Breitbart News discussion on border security, public safety, and American sovereignty.
Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle asked Bell about Leidos’s role in securing major events, including football games, the Super Bowl, and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“We’re very proud of our service to the Department of Homeland Security in that regard, and beyond the Department of Homeland Security,” Bell said. “Our systems and our products, our solutions, have been parts of presidential parades. They’ve been parts of … heads of state visits and securing major events like Super Bowls for years.”
Bell pointed to the FIFA World Cup as another example.
“Heretofore, we had a major role in assisting the Department of Homeland Security in securing FIFA and the World Cup that we all enjoyed this past summer, and you know it was a huge success,” Bell said.
“I think Secretary Mullin will talk about it a little bit, but it wasn’t without its challenges and it wasn’t without its threats that were effectively defeated with both our software, our solutions, and of course the manpower and the prowess of the Department of Homeland Security,” he continued.
He then detailed how Leidos’s systems identify drones.
“What do I mean by what we bring to the party? We have active and passive surveillance systems that can distinguish between a bird and a drone,” Bell said.
“Very important, because there’s a lot of birds flying around all the events and they’re harmless, but a drone is something we need to detect and effect,” he continued.
Bell also described the company’s use of non-kinetic systems.
“So we have the detection, and then we also have the effectors that take care of that,” Bell said. “Most of our money and our non-recurring development is in the area of non-kinetic effects.”
“I think this is very important, especially when you’re talking about urban spaces and suburban spaces,” Bell continued. “You can’t be shooting things with kinetic effects, and so our non-kinetic effects bring down drones ubiquitously. Again, distinguishing them from the birds.”
Bell closed by pointing to future work with federal agencies.
“So we’re very excited about the opportunity to continue to work with the Department of War, with the Department of Homeland Security, with other agencies that are very interested in homeland defense and base security in these non-kinetic effects,” Bell said.