In the wake of last month’s failed attempt by terrorists to detonate two bombs that would have been delivered by cargo aircraft to the U.S. had they not been intercepted at transshipment points in Britain and Dubai due to intelligence tips, Morpho Detection believes that incident has opened the door for air cargo carriers to purchase explosives detection systems (EDS) that are currently used to automatically screen checked luggage for explosives in U.S. and many international airports.
Morpho Detection also already issued a press release outlining the range of products it offers for the air cargo security market and now plans to make a business case to shippers and carriers and freight forwarders, particularly the all-cargo carriers such as FedEx [FDX] and United Parcel Service [UPS] to make the business case to them for EDS technology, Dennis Cooke, president of Morpho Detection, tells TR2.
“In addition we’re talking to some of the other associations such as the Airline Pilots Association, the Flight Attendants Association, because they’ve got concerns here and we’re saying, ‘Look, we’ve got solutions that you may want to discussing with your employers,” Cooke says.
Currently passenger airlines departing from U.S. airports must ensure that all of the cargo they carry has been screened for explosives. The screening is typically done by freight forwarders, primarily using explosives trace detection systems and to a lesser extent X-Ray systems, the airlines themselves, also using a similar combination of equipment, and by manufacturers, who usually rely on physical inspection prior to packaging their goods.
The Transportation Security Administration this year is supposed to ensure that cargo carried on international passenger flights into the U.S. is screened for explosives but the agency has said that it won’t meet this congressionally-mandated deadline for another two years. Shipments on all-cargo aircraft, such as those operated by FedEx and UPS, are exempt from the mandate although high-risk cargo and other measures are in place to enhance the security of this cargo.
It’s unclear what, if any, inspections of the cargo containing the bombs was performed. The PETN-based explosive devices discovered in Britain and Dubai originated in Yemen and were artfully concealed in printer ink cartridges to avoid detection by X-Ray systems. A security official in Qatar was quoted in media reports as saying neither X-Ray systems nor bomb sniffing dogs, would have uncovered the two bombs.
EDS systems are the best way to screen cargo shipments for explosives, an aviation security expert tells TR2. But this is expensive, which is why the computed tomography CT systems have largely been passed over so far by carriers and forwarders for screening cargo.
“Whether it is too expensive depends on the likelihood and consequence of losing a cargo liner, particularly one over a populate area,” the security expert says.
He adds that for mixed commodity classes such as electronics, metals and paper, EDS “is about the only way to screen dependably.” However, he notes, for screening a shipment that is all paper, less capability than EDS is needed because less expensive technologies can be used for anomaly detection.
If EDS isn’t they way to go, then more work is needed to better identify high-risk air cargo and layer security, the expert says.
“Short of EDS, which is where we are even with cargo shipped on passenger airliners, you have to combine knowledge of your shipper, X-Ray, trace, dogs and other layers,” he says. “It is playing the odds. TSA needs to develop a ‘Secure Flight’ risk engine for cargo.”
Business Case
While EDS technology far more expensive than X-Ray systems used to screen carry-on bags at airport checkpoints, Morpho Detection says at high volumes of cargo the additional cost is minimal. A “back of the envelope” analysis of the cost of screening parcels at the rate of 1,000 per hour–which is the throughput that Morpho Detection’s CTX 9800 EDS system has recently been certified to by TSA–would add 10 cents to the cost of shipping each package, Jay Cohen, Morpho Detection’s chairman and a member of The Chertoff Group of security consultants, tells TR2.
“Is it not reasonable for the carriers to want to ensure that their shippers will stay with them and have a short delivery for 10 cents a parcel,” Cohen suggests. “I don’t think government has to mandate anything. This is good old capitalism, supply and demand.” He said carriers would likely provide EDS level screening as a “fee for service.”
Cohen also says it’s in the interest of cargo carriers like FedEx, UPS and Deutsche Post DHL to ensure the security and reliability of their service given the precarious nature of the global economy. He also believes that the pilots who fly all-cargo aircraft are likely to demand better screening measures for the cargo they haul.
The Morpho Detection pitch to cargo carriers is to use EDS systems, like the CTX 9800, with the company’s Itemiser DX explosive trace detection system for alarm resolution. The company has been selling the Itemiser to airlines and freight forwards to help them meet the 100 percent explosives screening mandate.
The company’s largest customer for the desktop machine has been TSA, which has ordered over 2,600 of them this year. However, the most recent order for 1,233 of the trace machines is being protested by Smiths Detection.
X-Ray Diffraction Technology
Ultimately, Morpho Detection would also like to offer the cargo shipping industry its X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) EDS technology, which is currently in use at some airports to quickly resolve alarms from CT-based EDS as part of inline baggage handling systems.
As Morpho Detection increases the throughput on the XRD technology it’s the “ideal solution” for screening break-bulk cargo because it can detect a range of explosives, such as bulk and homemade, including liquids, Cooke says.
Morpho Detection, which is part of the Safran Group, was in Germany last week for the 2010 AVSEC World conference. There the company introduced a mockup of a new variant of its XRD technology, the XDi, which the company is developing for airport checkpoint security applications in Europe.
The XDi system, which would have a similar footprint to X-Ray systems used to screen carry-on bags at airport checkpoints, is meant to meet Europe’s liquid explosive detection system standards for Type D operations, which means that passengers would not have to remove liquids from their bags or laptop computers from their cases, Cooke says.
Morpho Detection is currently developing and integrating the XDi, having to reduce its size so that it can fit into a checkpoint. The company hopes to submit it in Europe for certification during the second half of 2012.