The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has awarded contracts to the four vendors that have all supplied the agency with advanced checkpoint baggage scanners that have been used for the past several years to demonstrate and evaluate the technologies in some U.S. airports.
The three-year contracts were awarded to Analogic, Integrated Defense & Security Solutions, Leidos [LDOS] and Smiths Detection. The values of the contracts were redacted.
Analogic and Smiths each have existing contracts with TSA to supply and deploy their respective checkpoint computed tomography (CT)-based systems that scan carry-on bags for potential threats at aviation security checkpoints in the U.S. Prior to these awards, TSA purchased and accepted donations from all four vendors to evaluate their CT systems to better understand their effectiveness and utility in actual checkpoints.
The systems deployed for evaluations were designed to meet an earlier threat detection standard.
The contracts cover technical engineering services for further research, development, test and evaluation in six technical topic areas including advanced algorithm development for explosives and prohibited items, advancing material discrimination, common primary viewing station development and support, enhanced network capabilities, and engineering services for reduced footprint CT systems.
The checkpoint CT systems give operators a 3-D view of the contents of a bag and allow users to virtually rotate the bag to look at it from different angles. The systems can also automatically detect explosives in electronics and liquids.
Smiths Detection in the spring of 2019 received a $97 million award from TSA for 300 checkpoint CT systems that have all been deployed. The agency recently awarded Analogic a $198 million contract for 314 of the company’s CT systems, including portions of the automated screening lanes that handle the entry into, and exit from, the units of bags and parcels.