Overview
- DHS posted a formal contract notice Friday starting a procurement to hire a private company to operate a government-owned air fleet for round‑the‑clock, short‑notice missions.
- The solicitation asks bidders to provide flight operations, maintenance, logistics and staffed crews able to run 24/7 missions into remote, primitive, or austere locations.
- Multiple reports identify a nascent fleet of two C-37B executive jets and seven Boeing 737-700s but that composition has been reported rather than fully confirmed by DHS.
- The move follows private carriers withdrawing from deportation charters and ties to congressional funding this year, with reporting saying the administration set aside funds to buy aircraft after earlier purchases.
- DHS estimates the operator contract would start in summer 2027 and run through 2032, a timetable that could speed deportation logistics and draw scrutiny from lawmakers and advocacy groups.