DHS to spend $1.35 billion on advanced cargo scanners
The Department of Homeland Security Wednesday awarded $1.35 billion in contracts to three security technology firms to develop a prototype and then produce an automated cargo imaging system that can detect high density shielding of nuclear material.
The contract for the Cargo Advanced Automated Radiography System (CAARS) will be split ($450 million apiece) between Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), San Diego; American Science & Engineering, Billerica, Mass.; and L-3 Communications, Woburn, Mass.
The system will be used in conjunction with passive radiation portal monitors at sea and land ports of entry to help detect terrorist smuggling of highly enriched uranium or weapons grade plutonium in containers or truck trailers.
Current systems in place, such as SAIC’s Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System (VACIS), can only detect contents behind light shielding.
SAIC and L-3 are using a similar type of technology in the imaging system, while AS&E is using a type of three-dimensional imaging, Howard Reichel, assistant director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office told reporters. The biggest challenge for the firms is not detection but signal processing, he said.
The CAARS system does not detect radiation. It is from the X-ray family of technologies and is designed to penetrate thick lead, liquids and other materials. It will be able to detect contraband such as drugs and high explosives. The automated recognition of anomalies is estimated to speed up processing, which is now done manually by Customs officers in the field, from five minutes to as little as 30 seconds.
DNDO Director Vayl Oxford said the companies have a real incentive to develop high-performance imaging systems so that they are allowed to mass produce the systems. DNDO has budgeted to procure about 300 CAARS systems for domestic and international deployment during the next six years.
Cargo throughput will be dictated by how the machines perform, he said.
The next-generation inspection system is part of the department’s effort to improve radiation detection capabilities at ports of entry. Current systems in place are notorious for false positives because they can’t distinguish between naturally occurring radiation in products and radiological material that can be used in a weapon. Customs officers resolve false alarms by pulling over trucks to a second detection gate and finally using handheld isotope identifiers to analyze the type of radiation and whether it is compatible with the product described on the manifest, all of which can cause shipment delays.
In July, three other companies split a $1.16 billion contract from DHS to test, develop and produce Advanced Spectroscopic Portal machines to identify the nuclear signature of materials and rule out benign sources.
DHS is expected to deploy the first 80 advanced radiation monitors this fall, beginning with the Port of New York-New Jersey. Department officials say they will have hundreds of radiation portal monitors in place capable of screening more than 80 percent of container volume at major seaports and more than 95 percent of cargo at the northern and southern borders. So far this year the department has installed 209 radiation portal monitors.