ORTEC Introduces Remote Capability for Detective Rad Detection Products
AMETEK’s [AME] ORTEC Products Group has introduced the Detective-Remote Mobile System for radionuclide identification applications. ORTEC is offering a new software that communicates with Detective instruments to provide users the capability to acquire data remotely from one or more Detective products simultaneously. “Detective-Remote Mobile System provides our customers with false-positive resistant nuclear threat detection and identification functionality in a cost-effective package that can fit into any Concept of Operation,” says Johnny Long, product manager for Homeland Security Products at ORTEC. The software has a Windows-based interface and can be used with any instrument in the Detective product family. The company says the new capability broadens the range of deployment options for the interdiction of nuclear material, noting that users no longer have to be near the instrument to gather data an analyze results.
Northrop Grumman Delivers NAIS System to Coast Guard
Northrop Grumman [NOC] has completed the core capability development of the Nationwide Automatic Identification System (NAIS) and delivered it to the Coast Guard for government testing prior to deployment. Under a contract awarded to the company in Dec. 2008, Northrop Grumman has developed the shore-side communications, network and processing capability to ensure the exchange of AIS information. The system is based on the AIS technology, which is a global standard for ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore and shore-to-ship communications. The NAIS system will collect, store, process and disseminate AIS data, serving as a two-way maritime digital communication system that queries incoming vessels to check vessel identity, position, speed, course, destination, and manifest and cargo data. The information will be combined with other government intelligence and surveillance data and shared with authorized government operators to enhance maritime situational awareness.
Smiths Detection Launches New HazMatID Model
Smiths Detection has introduced a new version of its HazMatID system, the HazMatID Elite, which it says is the only explosives, chemical warfare agents, toxic industrials and narcotics identifier certified to the strictest military standard for use in the most extreme climates. The HazMatID is a field portable Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy solid and liquid identifier. Smiths says the Elite model is 10 times smaller and four times lighter than the original and uses new sampling techniques, direct surface contaminant analysis can integrate with robotics. “As the only chemical identifier able to provide actionable data and easy-to-use chemical analysis tools,” HazMatID Elite maximizes the reach of miniaturized and ruggedized FT-IR field technology,” says Mal Maginnis, president of Smiths Detection. “Combined with Smiths Detection’s renowned customer service and support, it provides unrivaled support for military personnel and first responders in critical missions around the world.” The company says the Elite has an intuitive interface and encrypted wireless communications for down range operations and that users can be trained on the system in under an hour.
DHS Resumes Airflow Studies in Boston Subway System
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) branch and its partners are conducting airflow studies in the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subway system and nearby urban areas of Boston and Cambridge. The tests are a continuation of earlier airflow studies to understand how contaminants released in a subway system may be spread. “Previous phases of this study focused on the behavior of airborne contaminants within the subway system,” says Teresa Lustig, S&T program manager. “This follow-on study will help us better understand how airborne contaminants release into the subway impact surrounding urban areas. With a clear understanding of how contaminants from the subway may spread to above ground city centers we can use that information to enhance emergency planning and coordination across multiple jurisdictions in response to emergency events.” During the week-long study non-toxic, inert, odorless gas and particle tracers will be released into the subway system and nearby locations. Particle and gas concentrations will be sampled in more than 20 locations covering the entirety of the underground portion of the subway system as well as numerous locations in Boston and Cambridge. DHS’ partners on the study include Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, FLIR Systems [FLIR], and a team from Britain’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.
EADS Delivers 14th HC-144A Maritime Patrol Aircraft to Coast Guard
The U.S.-division of the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. (EADS) has delivered the 14th HC-144A Ocean Sentry maritime patrol aircraft to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard plans to acquire 36 HC-144A aircraft. The latest delivery is the last of three HC-144As delivered under a base contract awarded to EADS North America in 2010. The service has exercised options for three more aircraft, one of which will be delivered in 2013 and two in 2014.
IDO to Pilot MagShoe In Illinois Prison
IDO Security [IDOI] says it is demonstrating its MagShoe shoe scanning device at an Illinois prison facility as a pilot program for state officials to assess the effectiveness of the MagShoe to thwart the entry of cell phone, electronic devices and weapons that can be hidden inside shoes and smuggled into the prison. IDO says it is seeing a demand increase in the U.S. correctional facility market. “This pilot program demonstrates that there is a need for the MagShoe in our correctional facilities here in the U.S.,” says Michael Goldberg, president of IDO Security. “Illinois has taken the lead in testing the effectiveness of the MagShoe in correctional facilities against some of the most commonly smuggled items from visitors to the inmates, such as cell phones and weapons.”
FutureNet Group Acquires Smith & Wesson Security Business
FutureNet Group, Inc. (FNG) has completed the acquisition of the assets of Smith & Wesson Security Solutions, Inc. (SWSS), a full-service provider of perimeter security solutions. FNG says that over the past three years SWSS has completed over $130 million in perimeter security projects at more than 110 military installations, 16 separate federal agencies, and a number of Fortune 500 companies. The two companies have teamed on a number of turnkey security construction projects for the federal government including installations at Fort Knox, Aberdeen Proving Ground and Pensacola Naval Air Station. FNG is based in Michigan and provides customized solutions for the environment and infrastructure markets.