Ground / Mass transportation

Bush proposes $4 billion for Joint IED Defeat Organization
Allocation would be a major improvement over previous years; IEDs continue to take a toll, yet technological responses remain problematic; other budget winners include the Future Combat System and BioSense
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L-3 CyTerra receives a $40 million Army mine detection order
Follow-on order comes as part of a larger $300 deal for 17,000 units; 3,000 have already been delivered for use in Iraq and Afghanistan; AN/PSS-14 system marries metal detection to ground-pentrating radar
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NYPD refuses to use $140 million subway radio system
Long overdue and overbudget, the system is troubled by widespread interference and decrepit cabling; E.A. Technologies and Petrocelli Electric struggle to explain the problem
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Cernium's video analytics to protect San Diego light rail
Developer of the Perceptrak system teams up with Electro Specialty; rail seen a major challenge for security planners; company is also expert in protecting airports
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ICRC delivers first responder vehicles to Michigan National Guard
Heavy-duty truck is first to incorporate IRCS’s national guard vehicle information system for interoperability and networking; flexible communications, NBS detection, and nighttime surveillance among the features of this interesting vehicle
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New Jersey to build railway fence along "Chemical Alley"
A 2.6 mile stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike has security planners worried; ten-foot-high fence will obtruct view of the track from both drivers and would-be terrorists; motion sensors and CCTV to be deployed as well; contract award is imminent
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CBP chief calls for a change in container security priorities
Ralph Basham to insist on technologies that detect intrusions from all parts of the box, not just the door; policy a departure from predecessor’s; CBP has asked SAIC and L-3 to come up with a solution, but delivery is still pending
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Dayton positions itself as a sensor center
Ohio’s Third Frontier Commission awards $28 million for the development of a sensor technology research center; business partners include Woolpert, General Dynamics, UES, YSI, and L-3 Communications Cincinnati Electronics
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DHS unveils rail security plan
Experts point to trains carrying hazardous materials thorugh or near densley populated areas as a lucrative target for terorist attacks; DHS offers a plan to have trains and railyeards monitored more closely, but Democrats say it is too little, too late
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UK scientists develop mine-spotting camera
By dividing an image into thirty-two separate snapshots the system can pick out features unobservable to humans; expanded color palette the key; Qinetiq and Selex try to move technology to the market; system has medical uses as well
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Bush orders new look at ground transportation security requirements
Chertoff ordered to provide a sector by sector analysis; close consultation with state and municipal authorities should provide some clarity; report will emphasize technology needs and set research priorities; announcment preempts an incoming congress steamed about ground transportation failings
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VCs and others jump into the cargo tracking market
LoJack’s recent purchase of a minority stake in SC-Integrity just one example of an industry on the rise; with $50 billion at stake each year, shipping companies get value by both preventing theft and managing their supply chains
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Transportation sector lags behind in forming DHS "sector council"
National Infrastructure Protection Plan asks industry groups to form councils to advise DHS on critical assets, risk assessments, and an agreed security approach; so far, diverse nature of transportation has been a major road block; TSA now encouraging the development of smaller subsector councils, but still hopes for an industry-wide group
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UNISYS’s Jeff Irland on RFID and security
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EU considers "deep background checks" for Registered Traveler program
Responding to concerns about racial profiling, EU may instead develop a large-scale network linking criminal and civil data bases; a final report is not due until June, but in the meantime EU planners will move ahead with plans; privacy concerns remain an unsurmounted obstacle
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