Aviation and Airport

Bioscrypt selected for Canadian airport I.D.authentication system
Company follows up purchase of A4Vision with a foray northwards; primary contractor Labcal will incorporate Bioscrypt’s fingerprint algorithims into its handheld I.D. readers; twenty-nine airports effected
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USMC looks to manage UAV airspace
Corps solicits a miniature radar-based collision avoidance sensor suite; system to be carried by a Silver Fox-class UAV; bidding begins on 20 February
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Japanese scientists use radio waves to detect TNT
Airport luggage screening to benefit from this breakthrough approach; nitrogen nuclear quadrupole resonance solves the problem of low nitrogen resonance levels; distinghuishing between cocaine and explosives the key challenge
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Northrop teams up with RADA in Israeli missile defense bid
Israel will choose a winning plan within a month, and so Northrop positions itself tactically by teaming up with a major Israeli defense company; Skyguard system uses a deuterium fluoride laser to shoot down rockets; RADA Electronics moves beyond avionics
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Congress looks to expands America's K-9 ranks
Canine Detection Improvement Act of 2007 sets out standards for an increased push at explosives detection; airports and other critical infrastructure suffer from a lack of trained dogs; “breed American” is the new watchword, as congressmen try to take the German out of German shepherd
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Boeing to integrate ShotSpotter into ScanEagle UAV
Air Force contract shows how two seemingly-unrelated technologies can find a happy marriage in homeland security; planners will conduct a four month test of the ShotSpotter’s ability to locate sniper fire; system could be in Iraq soon afterwards
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L-1 receives $1.7 million to bring image analytics to FAMS
Air marshals look to improve their database system; L-1 takes a break from efforts to acquire ComnetiX; company also reports strong sales of its Identix touchprint readers
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TSA to slash half the names from terror watch lists
Confusion between singer Cat Stevens and the wife of senator Ted Stevens emblematic of the problem; ongoing problems cause a loss of confidence in DHS procedures; new Secure Flight program may also help; complaints and corrections about DHS databases will now be centralized
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Insitu's ScanEage succesfully meets Navy's heavy fuel requirements
Twenty-eight hour flight, a record for the craft, proves the heavy-fuel concept to a Navy interested both in safety and improved logistics; cold-weather flight overcomes traditional temperature challenges with heavy fuel
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Michael Vick busted for smuggling marijuana on a plane
Ignorance of airport procedures foils the Atlanta quarterback; experts and hopheads agree that large water bottles are not the best of smuggling mediums these days; HSDW decides whether to provide better advice
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DISA solicits communications upgrades for Air Force One
With Boeing’s Connexion service going off-line, the Defense Information Systems Agency looks for a new partner; winning bid must offer 3 megabit/sec data rate, support six aircraft at once, and rely on existing Air Force One antennas
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Smiths Group plays its cards tight
Smiths Groups sells its aerospace division to GE for $4.8 billion, proposing investors a £2.1 billion return — and then forms a detection JV with that company, with both companies hopingt o benefit from increased spending on WMD dection
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Israel Aircraft Industries to launch new missile-hunting UAV
With a wingspan of 110 feet, the Eitan UAV is designed for high altitide, long-haul flights; attached cameras and missiles intended to stop ballistic missiles on the launching pad; trial flights begin this week
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Bureau of Land Management to deploy UAV to Idaho
Agency hopes to use the unnamed craft to keep track of vegetation and recreational areas; monitoring land-use permits a major impetus; local libertarian object to government interference
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Monkeys require special screening, says TSA
Our hairy cousins sometimes work as service animals; checking them for bombs and weapons a concern; diaper removal just part of the job for the modern day screener
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