NEW YORK /BUSINESS WIRE/ -- L-3 Communications announced that its Security and Detection Systems subsidiary has been selected by the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) to provide 30 state-of-the-art prototype cargo container security devices for field testing.
L-3 is one of two companies downselected from an original five to receive Phase II funding from HSARPA for the development of the cargo container security devices. The cost-share program uses government and corporate funding valued at over $5 million.
L-3's innovative Advanced Container Security Device (ACSD) will continually track the sequence of a cargo container's journey from the moment it is sealed until it is released at its final destination. Designed to automatically identify tampering at any point in the container's passage, ACSD will detect breaches and unauthorized access, alerting authorities to potential threats of national security, contraband smuggling, theft, human trafficking, and stowaways.
Using advanced sensor design and fusion techniques, ACSD provides a true depiction of a container's condition at every step in the supply chain, in real time, through a communications network that will make data available to shippers, carriers, and law enforcement. In addition to monitoring the container's physical status, ACSD will indicate any breach of the container through walls, doors, or floors and detect the presence of human beings inside the container, which can give officials an early warning of potential cargo theft, product tampering, or the presence of contraband or explosives and other threat materials.
"L-3's ACSD solution provides security officials with invaluable information throughout the movement of the supply chain, and gives them meaningful, real-time data they need to stop smugglers, thieves, and other threats while keeping commerce moving swiftly and safely," said Craig P. Coy, president and chief operating officer of L-3's Homeland Security Group.
ACSD will have the highest detection probabilities and the lowest false alarm rates of any cargo security device in the industry. ACSD is designed to be virtually foolproof and tamperproof. Its multisensor design will help ensure that no security breach will go unnoticed—no matter how resourceful the criminal.
Additionally, the unit's forward-thinking, space-saving design does not consume valuable cargo space. Created to withstand the rigors of maritime shipping, L-3's robust ACSD will resist shock, vibration, temperature, humidity, corrosion, stress, and strain. Fully modular, scalable, and easy to upgrade, ACSD will be easily incorporated into standard port operations and is designed to be affordable for the maritime shipping industry.
"Our goal is to make cargo transport safer and more secure than ever, and we are well under way in the development of a device that is compatible with existing and new containers and that can be easily implemented at ports anywhere in the world," noted Coy. "In emphasizing user-friendliness and flexibility, we are making this novel technology accessible and convenient to implement. In addition to strengthening supply chain security at ports, this integrated technology will naturally lend itself to other multimodal transportation applications, including air cargo, rail, and trucking."
With a broad range of systems and technology, and an installed base of more than 18,000 systems worldwide, L-3 Security and Detection Systems offers screening technologies for numerous security applications that include: aviation systems for hold baggage explosives detection, oversized baggage, and checkpoint screening; cargo and air freight screening; port and border inspection; and facility protection. L-3 Security and Detection Systems' customer base includes major airlines, airports, numerous government agencies around the world (including the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service, Department of State, and Department of Agriculture), as well as international authorities throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
To learn more about L-3 Communications Security and Detection Systems, please visit the company's Web site.
Headquartered in New York City, L-3 Communications is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, secure communications systems, aircraft modernization, training, and government services. The company is a leading merchant supplier of a broad array of high-technology products, including guidance and navigation, sensors, scanners, fuzes, data links, propulsion systems, simulators, avionics, electro optics, satellite communications, electrical power equipment, encryption, signal intelligence, antennas, and microwave components. L-3 also supports a variety of Homeland Security initiatives with products and services. Its customers include the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, selected government intelligence agencies, and aerospace prime contractors. To learn more about L-3 Communications, please visit the company's Web site.