Army signs deal with ChemImage for explosive detection technology

Published 14 March 2011

The U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense command recently signed a $17 million contract with ChemImage Corporation to implement its real-time sensor technology to detect explosive threats in the field; ChemImage’s technology would give U.S. troops the ability to identify objects from a distance to determine if they are explosive, chemical, or biological threats; the devices rely on molecular spectroscopy and digital imaging to analyze material

The U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense command recently signed a $17 million contract with ChemImage Corporation to implement its real-time sensor technology to detect explosive threats in the field.

The deal comes as the military is investing heavily in explosive detection capabilities to combat the deadliest killer in Afghanistan and Iraq – improvised explosive devices (IEDs). IEDs are often buried in the dirt or disguised along the road and will detonate as U.S. troops pass.

According to icasualties.org, a site that tracks casualty statistics in Iraq and Afghanistan, in 2010 IEDs caused 368 fatalities, which accounted for nearly 60 percent of all casualties that year.

In 2009, IEDs caused 75 percent of all casualties in Afghanistan. Troops in Afghanistan have seen far more IED attacks than in Iraq, as the dirt roads in Afghanistan make it easy for insurgents to bury the devices in areas that U.S. convoys travel.

ChemImage’s technology would give U.S. troops the ability to identify objects from a distance to determine if they are explosive, chemical, or biological threats. The devices rely on molecular spectroscopy and digital imaging to analyze material.

The company will work in conjunction with General Dynamics to deliver the sensors.

ChemImage is based in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and provides its hyperspectral imaging technology to a variety of government agencies, businesses, and academic organizations.