The Department of Homeland Security on Friday announced the start to the deployment of 150 whole body imaging systems being supplied by Rapiscan Systems, with the first units to be installed at Boston’s Logan International Airport and the next installments at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
In all, DHS identified 11 airports that the Transportation Security Administration will begin deploying the Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) systems supplied by Rapiscan, which is a division of OSI Systems [OSIS]. All 11 airports should complete their deployments by this summer. Additional airports are also slated to get some of the 150 AIT systems being supplied by Rapiscan.
TSA has previously deployed 40 AIT systems supplied by L-3 Communications [LLL] to 19 airports. L-3’s technology is based on millimeter waves and Rapiscan’s systems use backscatter X-Rays.
The agency is expected to award a contract or contracts this year to purchase another 300 AIT systems and deploy them by year end, raising the total installed base of whole body imagers to 490 come late December. In FY ’11, TSA is budgeting to buy another 500 AIT systems.
TSA had been expected to begin rolling out additional AIT systems this year, beyond the original 40 units, but the pace of those deployments was accelerated following the failed bombing attempt aboard a Detroit-bound passenger plane from Amsterdam on Christmas Day.