• Breakthrough: Flapless UAV gets airborne

    The conventional control surfaces of a UAV include many moving parts, require frequent, costly repairs, and account for a significant percentage of an aircraft’s noise output; British researchers developed a UAV with no moveable control surfaces — no flaps, ailerons, elevators, or spoilers; just a wing, an engine, and some holes

  • Security M&A activity breaks records

    The value of transactions in the security sector skyrockets — and most of the majors (including Honeywell, Schneider, Siemens, Johnson Controls, Bosch, and UTC) have yet to seal a deal this year; the pace of consolidation experienced in the third quarter will continue into the last quarter of 2010

  • Oil will run dry before substitutes roll out: study

    At the current pace of research and development, global oil will run out ninety years before replacement technologies; the authors of the new study say the findings are a warning that current renewable-fuel targets are not ambitious enough to prevent harm to society, economic development and natural ecosystems

  • Biometrics M&A activity reaches new heights

    The value of transactions in the security sector during September was the highest ever recorded for a single month during the last three years; in the biometrics sector, the noteworthy deals include the sale of L-1 Identity Solutions to Safran; BAE’s acquisition of L-1’s intelligence services group; Safran’s acquisition of Motorola’s Biometric Division and purchase of an 81 percent share in GE Homeland Protection; and 3M’s acquisition of Cogent

  • India's ambitious UIDAI project launched

    India’s ambitious UIDAI ID scheme aims to assign a biometric ID to country’s 1.2 billion inhabitants; Morpho helped the Indian prime minister officially launch to project by issuing the first 12-digit UIAID number during the inauguration ceremony

  • Study to assess use of wave turbines along U.S. coastline

    A Scottish company will deploy its wave-power technology along the Oregon coast for a feasibility study of wave power; the state of Oregon has given the company a grant to measure and record the frequency, intensity and height of waves as they approach the Oregon shoreline

  • U.S. Army's new surveillance blimp will fly "mid-next summer"

    Northrop Grumman successfully completed another test of the Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) — a blimp longer than a football field and taller than a seven-story building, which will remain airborne for more than three weeks at a time, carrying multiple surveillance payloads

  • Aviation security market to reach $289 billion by 2015

    Analysts estimate that the aviation security market will reach $289 billion by the year 2015; air carriers around the world are set to take delivery of 29,400 planes with a total value of $3.2 trillion by 2028 — and governments and carriers alike are eager to create a robust security foundation for this growing fleet

  • German air shipping industry warns against overreaction on air freight security

    German security expert says that, as with the illegal drugs trade, the only practical solution is to infiltrate the criminal organizations themselves; “If [technological solutions] worked, we would not have illegal drugs going to the U.S.—- But we have hundreds of tons being illegally imported to the U.S. every year”

  • Closing gaping cargo security holes prohibitively expensive

    The technology exists to safeguard the world’s air-transport system against threats such as the Yemen-based mail bombs, but the cost may be too high to be practical; swabbing packages individually for explosives is considered the most effective way to scan, but this is not a practical option for the millions of packages that crisscross the globe every day; the cost of these machines would likely be in the billions of dollars, and would be economically impossible for some countries

  • Only 20 percent of U.S.-bound cargo screened for bombs

    About 20 percent of the nine billion pounds of air cargo that comes from overseas each year is physically checked for bombs; at some overseas airports, cargo is checked for bombs before being put on planes, but that screening could be below U.S. security standards, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO); the TSA may start forcing airlines to inspect suspicious cargo before a plane takes off from overseas. the agency is studying whether the tracking system can target certain U.S.-bound air cargo for screening prior to departure

  • ISC Solutions 2010, III: Innovative tools for attendees

    The event organizers have introduced tools that will help attendees navigate the seminars they would like to attend, and better handle the contacts they would like to network with, through customizable online agendas, smart phone applications, and ISC Solutions’ matchmaking tool

  • Not your father's police dept.: Tarrytown police adopts latest technology

    Tarrytown police cruisers are now rolling with the latest technology and software; two of the software systems at the fingertips of the police are the Mobile Plate Hunter 900 and the TraCS (Traffic and Criminal Software) system; used in conjunction with dual, rear-mounted license plate readers, an officer can catch an offending driver, check a driver’s background, and print up a ticket and a court summons in a matter of minutes

  • BAE Systems prime IT vendor for the FBI's largest-ever IDIQ

    BAE Systems was selected as the prime IT vendor for the FBI’s largest ever IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity) contract, potentially valued as high as $30 billion; the 8-year effort covers a variety of services, including hardware/software and related services, operations and maintenance, technical and development

  • Experts: cargo bombs raise questions about adequacy of technology

    The PETN bombs found onboard cargo aircraft at East Midlands airport and Dubai airport were hidden inside computer printers; the deadly devices were not picked up by X-ray screening or sniffer dogs; intelligence will continue to play a major role in maintaining air security as even advanced screening technologies are not perfect and checking every piece of cargo would be impractical