On September 29, 2026, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) asking technology providers to propose new ways to screen air cargo. The BAA won’t change screening requirements anytime soon. Still, it is TSA’s first public step in what is likely to be a long process that could eventually reshape the screening tools available to Certified Cargo Screening Facilities (CCSFs) in the Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP).

What TSA Is Looking For

The agency wants to strengthen the “demand signal” for cargo-specific screening tools that are practical and purpose-built. The BAA lists seven capability areas:

• Detection and characterization of threats
• Automated analysis and decision support, including AI and third-party algorithms
• Alarm resolution and fewer false alarms
• Operational integration and throughput
• Risk-based and data-enabled screening
• Interoperability and open architecture
• Other challenges that vendors identify themselves

Many of TSA’s stated priorities track problems CCSFs deal with every day:

• Limited facility space
• Palletized and oversized freight
• Dense or mixed shipments
• Perishable and healthcare cargo
• Open warehouse doors and temperature swings
• Backup operations when primary screening equipment goes down

TSA specifically wants “lower-footprint, and lower-cost approaches.” It also wants tools that work with the equipment operators already use, such as X-ray, CT, explosives detection systems, explosives trace detection and canines.

Why This Is a Long Road

The BAA is a first step, not a rule change. TSA says it wants “decision-useful evidence” that can “inform future TSA requirements, testing, standards, acquisition strategies, operational evaluations.” It also says that demonstrations “do not constitute formal test and evaluation, qualification, certification, approval, authorization for operational use.”

The timeline alone shows how long this will take. Vendors can submit white papers in three windows: January 15, 2027; May 15, 2027; and October 29, 2027. After that, a selected technology would go through demonstrations, then live trials run alongside existing screening at regulated cargo facilities. Formal qualification and any changes to screening programs would come later still. Before CCSP participants could rely on a new technology, TSA would presumably have to approve it through its normal processes. Realistically, this means years, not months.

The pace may differ by technology. TSA’s interest in software updates, threat libraries, and algorithms that “enhance existing screening equipment and be deployed more rapidly” suggests some improvements to equipment already in the field could come sooner than entirely new hardware.

Opportunities and Considerations for CCSFs

The BAA doesn’t limit who can participate. It expressly says vendors may team with Indirect Air Carriers (IACs), CCSFs, and others. TSA may also pay certain demonstration-related costs for “regulated air cargo stakeholders.” IACs and CCSFs with operational expertise, or with facilities suited to live testing, may be able to help shape what the next generation of screening technology will look like.

The Bottom Line

The BAA doesn’t change any current screening obligations. It does signal that TSA, working with industry, intends to modernize the tools CCSP participants may eventually be permitted to use, with an emphasis on cost, footprint, and throughput. CCSFs should watch how this initiative develops over the coming months and years. We will continue to monitor it and report on significant developments.