Explosives
It may be a sad reflection of the times we live in, but there’s a growing worldwide demand for devices capable of detecting chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRNE) threats. Detecting such threats in a laboratory environment is all well and good, but to really save lives such detection needs to be carried out at the site of the threat. That means a detection device that offers lab quality results with a portable form factor - both qualities that Smiths Detection promises in its range of threat detection systems now being rolled-out worldwide. Read More
High-power microwave (HPM) bombs that use an enormous electromagnetic radio pulse to disable computers, electronics, vehicles, guided missiles and communications while leaving people and structures unharmed have been under investigation in research labs for a number of years. Until recently these weapons have been impractically large at over 3.5 meters long, but researchers at Texas Tech University have now built a self powered device with U.S. Army funding that measures 15 cm in diameter and only 1.5 meters long, making it small enough to be considered portable. Read More
Scientists at the University of California have developed a spray-on explosive detector that glows blue under UV light in the presence of nitrogen-containing explosives. The silafluorene-fluorene copolymer is sensitive enough to detect just a billionth of a gram of explosive. Read More
March 24, 2008 If you're sitting behind a 20 foot thick wall of compressed, steel-reinforced concrete you could be forgiven for feeling somewhat invulnerable to outside attack - but think again. Raytheon has developed a new, lighter and more powerful bunker-busting conventional warhead system which punched through more than 19 feet of a 330-ton reinforced concrete block during tests conducted in late January. Read More
November 20, 2007 Reveal Imaging Technologies, Inc., has announced its first shipment of Mobile CT-80 automated explosives detection system (EDS) to a government customer in the Middle East. Read More
September 18, 2007 Russia has just announced the completion of successful testing of what it dubs the “Father of All Bombs” – four times more powerful than the USA’s comparatively placid “Mother of All Bombs". Both devices are viewed - somewhat dubiously - as “environmentally friendly” alternatives to nuclear devices, as they leave no radioactive fallout. Read More
June 4, 2007 Silent, unmoving, millimetre-thin and extremely difficult to see, trip and command wires are frequently found on land mines, conventional munitions and many improvised explosive devices (IEDs). In a bid to increase troop and civilian safety in war zones, defense contractor QinetiQ has been given a UK£800,000 contract to produce and evaluate portable tripwire detection devices based on polarization technology that's showing positive results. Read More
May 29, 2007 Without going through the hassle of removing bottle-tops, staff at security checkpoints are unable to see the difference between a bottle of drinking water and a potential molotov cocktail - the solution has commonly been to prevent people from passing through checkpoints with bottles. Now there's a device that can instantly detect whether a bottle contains a potential threat liquid without taking the top off. The Senicon is already in use in Japan's Kansai International Airport - and it's currently under review by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for use in airports and other areas under threat of terrorist attacks. Read More
May 23, 2007 One of the telltale signs of an explosive crate, envelope or package is the tiny trace amounts of explosive chemicals the bomb-maker leaves on the outer of the package when he closes it. Trace quantities of explosives are very hard to wash off hands as well, which is the theory behind the XPAK, a new portable explosives detection unit that allows shipping officers and security personnel to quickly scan for trace quantities of explosives in the field. Read More
May 12, 2006 The threats to homeland security that became evident on September 11 a few years back have precipitated a vastly different approach to Explosives Ordinance Response and the sophistication of the latest purpose-built vehicle from Mattman Specialty Vehicles is illustrative of the above. In the past, most bomb squads had to use an old delivery truck or if a new unit was purchased, its primary function was to carry bomb suits and other equipment. This unit is a complete operations base with a mast mounted camera, robot operator's area, exterior monitor and workstation, exterior decontamination shower, robot ramp, and awning for inclement weather. The hamburger-with-the-lot isn’t cheap, but than again, neither is human life. As photographed, the unit costs US$297,667. Read More
