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Man breaks into Raleigh-Durham airport, takes onboard nap
Intoxicated suspect climbs security fence and boards a plane; discovery leads to cancelled flight; man says he “was going to take a flight”
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Northrop to supply Navy with two Fire Scout UAV helicopters
$16.2 million contract modification a good sign for this intriguing craft; based on the Schweizer Model 333 manned helicopter, Fire Scout is especially suited for reconnaissance, mine detection, and as a communications node for future warfare applications
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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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DATEL installs Jordanian immigration control system
Jordan Electronic Gate matches passenger fingerprints against a smart card; self-monitoring system constantly updates databases; planners hope to expand program to non-Jordanian citizens
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Nuctech to install liquid bomb detectors ahead of China Olympics
Not coincidentally, contract goes to company headed by the son of China’s president; terms are undisclosed, but 147 airports will receive scanners normally priced at $200,000 per unit; company already controls 90 percent of the domestic scanner market
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Global Hawk flight suspended after communications failure
Northrop Grumman’s flagship UAV is grounded at Beale Air Force Base after craft failed to respond to landing directions; problem is ill-timed with company’s effort to win the Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) UAV contract; Global Hawk has a history of problems
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TSA approves GE's foot-scanner for Registered Traveler program
Planners say requiring shoe removal would waste the time the program is intended to save; Unisys takes a close look for its Reno operations, but Z-Backscatter technology may also do the trick; size of kiosks a critical issue
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US-VISIT to drop exit monitoring program
After a GAO report criticizes the border security program for technological and management failings, DHS decides to give up on tracking visitors’ egress; high costs of fingerprinting and facial scanning machines a major issue
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RTI and TAG join forces for a recoilless UAV gun
Recoilless Technologies International and Tactical Aerospace Group attempt to overcome the structural problems of cutting the size of UAVs; blowback from traditional weapons could damage craft; system will compete with Metal Storm’s stacked projectile approach
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BAE Systems to build U.K. UAV demonstrator
£124 million project the third in succession for the Ministry of Defense; UAV said to be similar to company’s Hawk system; first flight expected in 2010; Rolls Royce, QinetiQ, and Smiths Aerospace also involved; BAE is looking for British vendors
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Aurora Flight Sciences to test new Goldeneye 80 UAV
Federal government hopes for success in effort to encourage UAVs to run on standard diesel fuel; procurement efficiency at issue; Goldeneye 80 goes up against Honeywell UAV for DARPA funding, and both move forward into Phase 3 testing; winning UAV will support small units on tactical missions
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French launch UAVs to stop Israeli flights over Lebanon
International peacekeepers seek to ease tension over Israeli surveillance activities said to violate cease-fire; Israelis charge French with trying to undermine local UAV industry
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Sago succesfully tests iPat airport screening system
Thermal system screens passengers for weapons and explosives; unlike Z Backscatter, no privacy issues are implicated; handheld version also available; Sago just one of many companies succesfully nurtered by Trex Enterprises
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Heathrow begins new biometric tracking pilot
Passengers will scan their fingerprints at self-service kiosks or ticket counters; some will receive iris and face scans; only Emirites and Cathay Pacific flights to Dubai and Hong King effected; Accenture, IER, Raytheon, Sagem Defense Securite, and Sita provided the technology
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AS&E gets TSA go-ahead for a modified Z Backscatter screening system
Privacy issues delayed roll-out; an algorithm brushes away passengers’ most intimate secrets, and the video is immediately erased after processing; to ease embarassment concerns, monitoring will be done out of sight of the passengers
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