HOMELAND SECURITY
24 Jul 07. Smiths Detection, part of the global technology business Smiths Group, today announced that its Military unit has been awarded a $3.9m firm-fixed price contract to supply the U.S. Department of Defense with lightweight detectors under its Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) program. (Source: ASD Network)
23 Jul 07. BAE Systems successfully tested a mobile ground station for use by emergency services at a simulated crisis exercise in Valencia, Spain, on July 18. The ground station is a key element of MARIUS — the Mobile Autonomous Reactive Information System for Urgency Situations — a technology project funded by the European Commission. The demonstration, conducted in coordination with Valencia firefighters, consisted of a simulated terrorist attack in an urban area. The portable ground station served as an information hub for emergency operations, linking inputs provided by other MARIUS partners. These inputs include data, video from ground-based cameras and an unmanned aerial vehicle, and a helicopter-based mobile phone detection system. The ground station’s sophisticated user interface is designed to support cooperation and decision-making among emergency services. BAE Systems is one of 12 industrial and academic partners from five countries that are developing the MARIUS system, which is coordinated by EADS. The University Politecncia de Valencia organized the event with support from authorities in the region of Valencia.