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Industry heavyweights come out for NAIS briefing
Nationwide Automatic Identification System contract may eventually be worth as much as $165 million, but executives suspect that the project will lead into work on the Command 2010 project; Boeing, L-3, SAIC, and others attend a briefing
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Navy to deploy dolphins and sea lions to Washington naval base
Puget Sound gets ready to accept a flotilla of marine mammals; dolphins use sonar to swiftly locate maritime intruders; versitile sea lions capture them with a rope; military hopes to eventually replace them with machines
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Senate to clash with House over container 100% inspection provision
The House voted to mandate 100% inspection of U.S.-bound frieght containers; a Senate panel agrees with the Bush administration that the measure would be too costly
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Boeing wins $11 million UUV refurbishment and testing contract
Industry heavyweight will give the AN/BLQ-11 Long-term Mine Reconnaissance System a thorough going-over; system capable of twelve hours of autonomous reconnaissance before docking itself through the torpedo tube; testing to begin at Puget Sound and Bahamas
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Deepwater under continued fire
Henry Waxman charges Coast Guard with misleading DHS auditors and vows to get to the bottom of it; an independent DoD assessment finds the Deepwater project in trouble and wonders in Lockheed and Northrop should be stripped of their favored position; opportunities beckon for others
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Industry criticizes DHS for short-chaning port security
Maritime- and port-related industries criticize DHS for continuing to give a disproportionately large slice of federal security funding to aviation security, while being unreasonably frugal when it comes to port security
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India announces coast guard expansion plan
Country will buy fifteen new ships and twenty-three more aircraft, including UAVs; coast guard looks for deep water capabilities capable of assisting with coastal counter-terror missions
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GE and partners release upgraded version of container safety product
While Congress debates the 100 percent insepction of U.S.-bound cargo containers, GE and its global partners are offering Version 3.0 of their CommerceGuard’s container security system
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UPDATE: National Security Cutter marred by fatigue cracks
DHS says Coast Guard failed properly to oversee the $24 billion project; Deepwater program comes under increasing scrutiny; costs double while sea life decreases 20 percent; safety issues observed three years ago
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Coda Octopus announces new Underwater Inspection System
Device creates real-time 3D images of subsea objects; port security the primary market for this intriguing new sonar product; company already known for its oil exploration-enhancing echoscope; government delivery pending
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Reliability continues to plague TWIC
Lockheed wins a major $70 million contract, but low bidding may hide quality issues; “bait and switch” says one critic; cards said to suffer 50 percent error rates with unacceptable processing times; flimsy card stock at issue
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Update: Littoral failure upsets Lockheed subcontractors
Nineteen companies to be affected by production stoppage, including five in the D.C. area alone; Argon ST, BAE Systems, EADS, Angle, and Terma face the future with gloom; fortunately, only one ship out of four is effected
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Littoral combat ship comes under heavy budgetary fire
Lockheed Martin’s effort has increased in cost 87 percent, while General Dynamics sees soaring costs as well; Navy officials decide on a temporary halt while a review gets under way
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Coast Guard ready for maritime communications solicitations
International automatic identification system equipment will be used to form an overarching view of maritime traffic within or near the U.S.; Phase two contracting set to begin for reception and communications set-up; project worth a total of $165 million
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Terrorism threat sparks a labor market for underwater detectives
Grant from DHS launches a minor in underwater crime scene investigation at Florida State University; SCUBA diving, rules of evidence, among the coursework in this unusual discipline; investigations move beyond mere recovery of bodies
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The long view
Calls Grow for U.S. to Counter Chinese Control, Influence in Western Ports
Experts say Washington should consider buying back some ports, offer incentives to allies to decouple from China.