BEDFORD, MA - Sionex Corporation, a company producing commercialized breakthrough chemical and biological sensors and sub-systems, announced that it has been named by Smiths Detection as a partner for the United Kingdom (UK) Ministry of Defence (MOD) contract to develop advanced technology for future generation chemical agent detectors.
Smiths Detection, part of the global technology business Smiths Group, has been awarded a contract by the UK MOD to develop HiFAWS technology to protect military forces against current and emerging chemical warfare threats. The Contract, awarded to Smiths Detection against competition, should lead ultimately to the development of a new generation of small, low-cost detectors suited to a variety of applications.
Wes Davis, CEO of Sionex said: "The program awarded to Smiths Detection incorporates Sionex's commercially proven microDMx technology. This demonstrates the value of our technology to detect chemical threats at higher sensitivity and superior selectivity, which equates to saving the lives of armed force personnel in a battlefield environment."
Damian Tracey, Managing Director of Smiths Detection - Military, said: "This program offers the potential for a significant leap in capability for the MOD, by developing the technology for chemical agent detection. Of the new technologies in the field, Smiths Detection base considers that HiFAWS offers great potential to advance our worldleading core detection technology significantly."
In conjunction with Dstl, the MOD science and technology agency, Smiths Detection will manage a program to evaluate the most suitable approach to the use of the HiFAWS technology. The objective is to create a system capable of identifying a growing range of detectable materials, at higher sensitivities and with near zero false alarms, packaged in a form suitable for operational military use.
About Sionex Corporation
Sionex Corporation provides breakthrough chemical and biological sensor chips and sub-systems based on its proprietary HiFAWS microDMx detection technology. Sionex maintains its worldwide headquarters and laboratories in Bedford, MA. The company is privately held and was founded in 2001 with patented technology licensed exclusively from The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory.
About Smiths Detection
Smiths Detection is part of the global technology business Smiths Group. It offers advanced integrated security solutions for customers in civil and military markets worldwide and is a leading technology developer and manufacturer of sensors that detect and identify explosives, chemical and biological agents, weapons, and contraband. Its advanced technology security solutions also include Smiths Heimann X-ray imaging systems, millimeter-wave technology and a specialist software supply business for the management of large sensor and video surveillance networks. Separate business units focus on related products for the life sciences, and food manufacturing industries.