Boston Dynamics Says ICE's Robot Dogs Are for Investigations. The Federal Contract Record Lists ICE's Firearms and Tactical Office

Boston Dynamics has told employees it will go ahead with the sale of four of its Spot robots to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, rejecting a petition that about 300 workers signed asking the Waltham company to cancel the deal, WBUR reported Friday. Federal spending records reviewed by Boston Uncut add detail on how the purchase was made and which part of ICE is paying for it.

The award, listed on USAspending.gov under contract number 70CMSW26P00000067, was signed Sept. 25, 2026, for $1,304,296. The recipient is Radeco Inc. of Plainfield, Conn., not Boston Dynamics directly. The record's description reads: "The purpose of this award is to procure Cerberus Spot quadruped robots and accessories for Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs."

The record lists ICE's Mission Support office in Washington as the awarding office and an ICE office identified as "Office of Training Tactical Programs" as the funding office. It classifies the purchase as "not competed," with the solicitation procedure listed as "only one source" under the federal acquisition rule that allows sole-source buys. One offer was received. The period of performance runs to Nov. 24, 2026, so the robots are due within weeks.

That description differs in emphasis from the company's public account. Boston Dynamics has said the robots are going to ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit, which focuses on transnational crime, rather than to Enforcement and Removal Operations, which carries out deportations, according to WBUR and Boston.com. Boston.com reported in September that the contract said the robots would be used to search tunnels at border crossings and to combat human trafficking, drug smuggling and cartel activity. The spending record does not mention HSI, border tunnels or any specific mission; it names the firearms and tactical office. The record alone does not show how ICE will deploy the robots, and a tactical training office could support any part of the agency.

Radeco's role explains the indirect sale. Boston.com reported that the robots are being fitted with a kit made by Radeco, a Boston Dynamics partner, with sensors to detect chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive hazards. Robrief reported that Radeco adds a robotic arm, a thermal camera and explosive sensors and markets the package as Cerberus. The federal record classifies the item under a code for search and detection instrument manufacturing.

Inside Boston Dynamics, which employs more than 1,500 people, the sale has caused friction. The petition, sent to leadership in early September and obtained by WBUR, said the deal "presents us as working directly with ICE" and warned it could drive staff away. "We cannot be proud of working at [Boston Dynamics] when that work is being used by a government agency that brutalizes civilians, including some of our own colleagues," it said. A company spokesperson confirmed the petition but said "nearly half" of its 300 signatures were anonymous.

In a letter to employees, then-interim CEO Amanda McMaster said the company was standing by the sale, WBUR reported. She said customers must follow terms that "prohibit any attempts to weaponize our robot or use it for purposes of harm or intimidation." The company has said "any suggestion that these robots will be used to support immigrant detentions or deportations is false," according to Boston.com.

ICE has said the robots would provide "real-time situational awareness in hazardous, confined, or tactically uncertain environments" before agents are sent in and would not replace "human judgment," WBUR reported.

Unanswered: what ICE's firearms and tactical office plans to do with the robots, why the purchase was made sole-source, and how Boston Dynamics would detect or respond to a violation of its terms by a reseller's government customer. The company's ethics principles say it will take "appropriate measures" if its products are misused but do not describe what those are.