Battelle, Sellex Receive Final ECAC Approval for Bottled Liquid Scanner
Battelle and its marketing partner Sellex International say they have been granted final approval—Type B Standard 2 Certification—for the LS10 liquid bottle scanner, making the device available for use in Europe. The scanner can be used to scan liquids, aerosols and gels in almost any container for threats such as explosives. “We already have had interest from all across Europe for trials of the LS10,” Mark Davis, business development manager at Battelle, said in a statement. He added that the Battelle/Sellex team is “poised to supply these bottle scanners at security checkpoints throughout European airports, government buildings and other passenger hubs.”
Key Crystals to Aid Nuclear Detection Now Commercially Available
Crystals that are critical to the functionality of mobile radiation detectors are now commercially available after several years of development funding provided by the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), says Huban Gowadia, acting director of the office. The crystal structures called strontium iodide and cesium lithium yttrium chloride (CYLC) became commercially available for use in radiation detection equipment as of Oct. 2012, Gowadia writes in December in a Department of Homeland Security blog post. Gowadia says the key to the crystals is their scintillation properties. “A scintillator crystal converts incoming radiation into pulses of light, which are then converted into a measurable electronic signal which indicates the presence and the energy of incident radiation,” he says. “Detectors made with CLYC crystals will enable first responders to carry only one compact detector, due to the special density and dual gamma ray/neutron detection quality of CLYC. In addition, the simple crystal structure of CYLC and strontium iodide makes them relatively easy to grow and less expensive compared to other scintillators; therefore DHS could acquire more mobile radiation units and expand the deployment of radiation detection capabilities.” He also says that both types of crystals provide better energy resolution than current crystals, enabling faster and more accurate detectors.
Raytheon Acquires Government Business from Data Security Firm SafeNet
Further bolstering its information assurance capabilities, Raytheon [RTN] has acquired the Government Solutions business from the data protection company SafeNet, Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed although Raytheon says it will not materially affect its sales and earnings in the fourth quarter of 2012 or in 2013. SafeNet’s Government Solutions business has 170 employees and does about $100 million in annual sales. The Government Solutions business provides advanced, high-speed network encryption products to defense related customers that need to protect classified data. The products are used with satellite, networking, data link voice, key management, and wireless communications. Raytheon says the purchase gives it opportunities in the growing encryption market. Government Solution’s general manager Jim Summers will continue to lead the business under Raytheon. SafeNet did not use a financial advisor on the deal.
UTC Technology Used by Royal Navy in Support of Olympic Security
United Technologies [UTX] says its UTC Aerospace Systems unit supplied a number of its Maritime Imagery Manipulation and Storage (MAInMAST) systems to Britain’s Royal Navy to provide near real-time threat analysis in support of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games in London. The MAInMAST is housed in a server rack or its own ruggedized case and can be deployed a board a ship, land vehicle or a ground-based facility. The system accepts information from a variety of sensors. “This system, together with the UTC Aerospace Systems Merlin exploitation application software, has also created a highly effective reference library, enabling officials to track and show evidence of illicit activity, including terrorism, narcotics smuggling and piracy,” says Sam Macleod, manager director, ISR Systems at UTC Aerospace.