The $1.3 million contract buys four Cerberus Spot robots to let tactical teams search dangerous spaces before officers enter. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement assigned the machines to its Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs to support Special Response Teams in unsafe, confined or unstable locations.
Cerberus Spot is a customized Boston Dynamics Spot, a four-legged walking robot fitted with tools and sensors. TechTimes reported the $1,304,296 award on Sept. 25, 2026, to Connecticut-based RADeCO Inc. for four robots and accessories in its contract report.
Table of Contents
- What does each robot include?
- How would tactical teams use them?
- Why focus on tunnels and hazardous environments?
- How was the deal awarded and what limits apply?
What does each robot include?
Each delivered robot costs about $326,000 and arrives with a robotic arm, thermal zoom camera, radio kit, microphone, speaker and officer training. Project Salt Box described that configuration in its contracting records review.
The package turns a mobile base into an inspection and sensing tool. RADeCO describes Cerberus as a Spot integrated for explosive-ordnance disposal and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear detection. The arm and instruments allow remote handling, close viewing and sampling tasks without placing hands on the hazard.
How would tactical teams use them?
The robots go first into rooms, structures and tight voids. They extend reach and vision where an officer would face a fall, collapse, hidden person or weapon.
For building operations, the planned tasks include: That emphasis keeps people behind cover while the robot checks angles, heights and enclosed spaces. Two-way audio also lets officers speak, warn and seek compliance from a safer position.
- listen for movement before entry
- inspect atop closets, bunk beds and crawl spaces with a 5.5-foot arm
- operate in darkness alongside night-vision teams
- provide two-way audio for orders and de-escalation
Why focus on tunnels and hazardous environments?
Southwest-border smuggling tunnels are a leading use case. Those passages can be narrow, poorly ventilated, structurally weak and possibly wired with hazards.
The robots carry an oxygen sensor plus detectors for radiation, toxic gas and explosives. Scripps reporting detailed that sensor load in its records report. For automation readers, the practical point is standoff sensing: map air and contamination risks first, then decide whether humans, ventilators, bomb technicians or cleanup teams enter.
How was the deal awarded and what limits apply?
ICE bought the systems sole-source after an Aug. 28 vendor notice drew two responses. The agency rejected GovTRobotics as noncompliant and not an authorized reseller, leaving RADeCO as the selected supplier.
Deployment details remain narrow. ICE has not specified when, where or under what training the robots will operate. Boston Dynamics says its terms prohibit harm or intimidation and denies detention or deportation use, while privacy advocates warn against protest or community-surveillance misuse.
