On September 19, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement made a $61,218 cost for “guided missile warheads and explosive parts,” in accordance to the Product and Service Code (PSC) included in the payment record on a federal contracting database.
“This award gives a number of distraction units to help regulation enforcement operations and ICE- Workplace of Firearms and Tactical Applications,” the file’s description part reads.
The Substack Standard Info mentioned this cost in a Monday article, which centered on the indisputable fact that ICE spending in the “small arms, ordnance, and ordnance equipment manufacturing” product class elevated by 700 % between 2024 and 2025. (Spending elevated by about 636 %, per WIRED’s evaluation of the similar class and time intervals Standard Info measured.) Phrase of the cost additionally circulated on Tuesday after a publish on BlueSky by Democratic Wisconsin state senator Chris Larson went viral.
It seems, concern over ICE brokers planning to use warheads is doubtless primarily based on a mistake. Quantico Tactical, the firm listed as the provider of mentioned warheads in the federal cost data, does not promote any explosive units. (It sells a wide range of firearms, switchblades, and weapon equipment.) David Hensley, founder and CEO of Quantico Tactical, advised WIRED in an e-mail that the PSC “seems to be an error.”
“Quantico Tactical does not promote, and I think that CBP ICE does not buy, ‘Guided Missile Warheads,’” Hensley mentioned, referencing Customs and Border Safety. He added that the remainder of the cost file seems to be right.
PSCs are assigned by a authorities company’s contracting workplace, not the non-public contractor. Hensley declined to speculate on what the right PSC for the cost could also be. He additionally declined to make clear which “distraction units” ICE bought. Nevertheless, ICE made two different payments to Quantico Tactical for “distraction units” in September 2024 and August 2025.
The descriptions for each cost data declare that they are for coaching packages run by ICE’s Workplace of Firearms and Tactical Applications (OFTP). Each funds data use the PSC for “chemical weapons and gear,” which includes objects like “flame throwers” and “smoke mills.”
An ICE “Firearms and Use of Drive” handbook from 2021 does not point out any authorized use of flame throwers, but it surely does point out the use of “chemical munitions” reminiscent of smoke, pepper spray, and tear fuel. (It notes that their use should be authorized by the company’s affiliate director and the OFTP.) Quantico Tactical does not checklist smoke bombs, pepper spray, or tear fuel on the market on its web site, although it does checklist equipment like smoke-resistant goggles and holders for mace, flash grenades, and smoke bombs. It’s unclear what ICE could have bought.
Disclaimer: This article is sourced from external platforms. OverBeta has not independently verified the information. Readers are advised to verify details before relying on them.
