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BAE in contract to defend Ospreys from ground fire
After many years of development, and bitter debates over the craft’s safety record, the Marine Corps is ordering the tiltrotor VSTOL Osprey by the dozen; now there is a need to defend them from hostile ground fire, and BAE receives a contract to do so
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Airport screeners use black lights to inspect ID cards
TSA screeners at about 400 U.S. airports have began checking IDs with hand-held black lights; black lights help screeners inspect ID cards by illuminating holograms, typically of government seals, which are found in licenses and passports
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Panel says aviation security in Israel in "catastrophic state"
The proficiency and competence of the vaunted Israel Air Force — most recently, and mysteriously, demonstrated over the skies of Syria on 6 September — apparently does not translate into the Israeli civilian aviation system
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Atlanta's Hartsfield second in U.S. to collect ten fingerprints
DHS begins collecting ten fingerprints from international visitors at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; Washington Dulles airport began doing so in late November; eight additional U.S. airports to implement ten-fingerprint requirement in 2008
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TSA orders Qinetiq security system
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration orders a dozen of SPO units from Hampshire-based Qinetiq as part of a campaign to bolster airport security; SPO units are cameras which use millimeter wave technology combined with software algorithms to screen people one at a time — and do so from a distance of a few meters
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Passengers on Israel-to-Canada flight become ill with Noro virus
Several passengers on Air Canada flight become severely ill with gastroenteritis; 75 of the 201 passengers kept in isolation at Toronto airport for further examination
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CAST launches new air safety Web site
The Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) was formed in 1998; the voluntary association comprises government agencies, airlines, aircraft manufacturers, additional aviation industry members, employee representatives, and others who have a stake in commercial aviation security; after nine years of safety initiatives, the partnership says that the fatality risk of commercial air travel in the United States has been reduced by 83 percent
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D.C. area flight restriction to be imposed during State of the Union Address
The Federal Aviation Administration, at the request of DHS and the Pentagon, will be modifying the Washington Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and Washington Metropolitan Flight Restriction Zone (FRZ) with additional flight restrictions on 28 January 2008
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Trial begins for laser-jamming systems on commercial airlines
Three American Airlines Boeing 767-200s which fly daily round-trip routes between New York and California will be equipped with BAE’s anti-missile laser jammers this spring; part of DHS $29 million trial
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Business aviation “extremely concerned” over proposed DHS border rules
Among DHS’s new requirements is the need for private aircraft to transmit notice of arrival information to U.S. border patrol agents via an Internet site no later than an hour before departure; if an Internet connection is not available, the aircraft must land at another location and wait for approval; groups representing private aviation say this and other requirements are too onerous
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TSA places behavior observation teams in more airports
TSA behavior observers now operate in more than fifty U.S. airports; since January 2006, behavior-detection officers have referred about 70,000 people for secondary screening; of those, about 600 to 700 were arrested on a variety of charges
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China shows first domestically developed regional aircraft
China plans to become a serious competitor to Boeing and Airbus; today it has taken the first step toward that goal by unveiling Xiang Feng, a 90-seat jet
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Adding bellyflaps to blended-wing aircraft increase their manoeuvrability
Blended-wing aircraft generate less drag, are quieter, and use far less fuel; they are also less maneuverable because the aerodynamic surfaces that control an aircraft’s pitch are located closer to the aircraft’s center of gravity than those on a conventional aircraft; the solution, adding bellyflaps
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BAE tests counter-missile system on American Airlines aircraft
DHS awards BAE $29 million to test laser jamming systems on American passenger planes; test was initially limited to cargo planes, but Congress wants to see whether system is suitable for passenger planes
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TSA, Texas prison collaborate on dog training
TSA will allow inmates in Travis County State Jail in Austin to take care of puppies who will ultimately serve as explosives detection dogs within TSA’s National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program
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