Transportation

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
- Read more
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
- Read more

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
- Read more
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
- Read more

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
- Read more
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
- Read more

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
- Read more
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
- Read more

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
- Read more
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
- Read more

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
- Read more
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
- Read more

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
- Read more
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
- Read more
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
- Read more

More headlines