"On September 19, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement made a $61,218 payment for "guided missile warheads and explosive components," according to the Product and Service Code (PSC) included in the payment record on a federal contracting database. "This award provides multiple distraction devices to support law enforcement operations and ICE- Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs," the record's description section reads."
"The Substack Popular Information mentioned this payment in a Monday article, which focused on the fact that ICE spending in the "small arms, ordnance, and ordnance accessories manufacturing" product category increased by 700 percent between 2024 and 2025. (Spending increased by about 636 percent, per WIRED's analysis of the same category and time periods Popular Information measured.) Word of the payment also circulated on Tuesday after a post on BlueSky by Democratic Wisconsin state senator Chris Larson went viral."
"It turns out, concern over ICE agents planning to use warheads is likely based on a mistake. Quantico Tactical, the company listed as the supplier of said warheads in the federal payment records, does not sell any explosive devices. (It sells a variety of firearms, switchblades, and weapon accessories.) David Hensley, founder and CEO of Quantico Tactical, told WIRED in an email that the PSC "appears to be an error.""
ICE made a $61,218 payment recorded under a Product and Service Code (PSC) labeled "guided missile warheads and explosive components." The payment record's description states that the award provides multiple distraction devices to support law enforcement operations and ICE Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs. Spending in the "small arms, ordnance, and ordnance accessories manufacturing" product category rose dramatically between 2024 and 2025, with estimates ranging about 636–700 percent. The supplier listed, Quantico Tactical, does not sell explosive devices and its founder called the PSC assignment an apparent error. PSCs are assigned by contracting offices, not contractors. The supplier declined to specify which distraction devices were purchased, and ICE made additional payments to the same vendor for distraction devices.
Read at WIRED
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