Global security provider Northrop Grumman Corp. has been awarded a $95 million contract by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM) to develop the first two increments of the Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART) system. Northrop Grumman will serve as systems developer and integrator for this 42-month effort. HART is the organization’s next-generation recognition program, replacing the Automated Biometric Identity System (IDENT) built in the 1990s. HART is a more robust system than its predecessor and will perform multimodal biometric identification of individuals to enable both national security and public safety, and to improve benefits and services. Supporting DHS and its mission partners, HART will help the government keep pace with the growing sophistication of domestic threats. “Northrop Grumman is proud to support the DHS in taking this critical biometric identity technology to the next level,” said Bobby Lentz, vice president of the global cyber solutions, cyber and intelligence mission solutions division of Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. “As threats continue to evolve, HART will offer a more accurate, robust way to identify adversaries in a secure, affordable manner that scales to future needs and ensures interagency data sharing. We’re applying advanced, proven technologies to deliver a system that performs well into the future and is poised to grow to meet tomorrow’s homeland security needs.” When fully implemented, HART will feature multimodal processing and matching technology that uses a combination of face, finger and iris biometrics meeting DHS accuracy requirements. A keen focus on safeguarding personally identifiable information and on ensuring the critical sharing of data across interagency partners underpins the technology. Using HART’s scalable architecture, the technology will allow for vastly increased transaction volumes, new modalities and mission growth for the nation’s largest biometric system. OBIM supports DHS’ responsibility to protect the nation by providing biometric identification services that help federal, state and local government decision makers accurately identify the people they encounter and determine whether those people pose a risk to the U.S. Northrop Grumman provides innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, logistics and modernization.