Transportation

TSA, Texas prison collaborate on dog training
TSA will allow inmates in Travis County State Jail in Austin to take care of puppies who will ultimately serve as explosives detection dogs within TSA’s National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program
- Read more
Somali pirates demand $1 million ransom for Japanese tanker
One way to make money in Somalia — perhaps the only way — is old-fashion piracy; in the latest episode, pirates demand $1 million for a Japanese tanker, threatening to kill the crew unless their demands are met
- Read more

Philippine government buys hovercrafts for coastal security
As law enforcement authorities look for versatile machines to help them deal with changing threat environment, hovercraft manufacturers may be rewarded
- Read more
Border Patrol takes possession of Project 28
Six months after the 13 June deadline, Boeing hands over keys to Project 28, the system of towers and surveillance cameras on the Arizona-Mexico border, to Customs and Border Patrol; border patrol agents will test the system for forty-five days
- Read more

Growing unease with DHS Terror Watch Lists
As DHS’s consolidated Terrorism Watch List grows — there are now about 800,000 names on it — criticism by individuals who find themselves on the list for no reason, and by privacy and advocacy groups, grow as well; DHS established Travelers Redress Inquiry Program to allow individuals to have their inclusion on the list examined, but problems persist
- Read more
New T-ray source would improve airport security, cancer detection
Terahertz radiation does not have sufficient energy to “ionize” an atom by knocking loose one of its electrons, which is good news, because this ionization causes the cellular damage that can lead to radiation sickness or cancer; T-ray absorption patterns could not only detect but also identify a much wider variety of hazardous or illegal substances than X-ray
- Read more

Unmanned aircraft will challenge air traffic control
The rapid growth in the number of UAVs flying the skies for a variety of purposes leads to serious discussion of a UAV air-traffic control system to monitor their flight and prevent accidents
- Read more
Boeing may not be paid for SBInet until system is usable
Legislators are upset with continuing technical difficulties afflicting Project 28 — and with what they regard as DHS’s and Boeing’s spin of these difficulties (both now describe Project 28 as mere “test bed” for border protection technologies)
- Read more

UAVs to be used for mid-air refueling
U.S. Air Force, Boeing conducts tests to see whether a UAV can perform mid-air refueling
- Read more
DSC receives Home Office funding for improved explosive detector
U.K. company has developed technology to produce from vapor single crystals of the compound semiconductor cadmium telluride, which can be used as detectors of X-rays and gamma rays
- Read more

Continental first in nation to use paperless boarding
Continental passengers at Houston airport can now board planes by showing their cell phones or PDAs to security checkers; checkers scan rectangular bars on the cell phones’ or PDAs’ screens, which contain passengers personal and travel information
- Read more
Terrorists smuggle 8 Chinese missiles into Saudi Arabia
Last week the Saudi authorities said they arrested 208 al-Qaeda-linked militants in six separate arrests in recent months; members of one of the cells were found to have Chinese missiles with them
- Read more

Land travel phase of WHTI to begin along Canadian border 31 January 2008
As of 31 January 2008, for all land and sea border crossings between the United States and Canada, citizens of each country will need to present a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)-compliant document
- Read more
New X-ray technique developed
The tomographic energy dispersive diffraction imaging (TEDDI) harnesses all the wavelengths present in an X-ray beam to create 3D pictures; could be used to detect hidden explosives, drugs, and human cancers more effectively
- Read more
Slow start for TWIC
More than one million workers with escorted access to 361 U.S. ports could register for the security clearance — more than four years after the program was to have started
- Read more

More headlines