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As the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) continues to expand its K-9 program of bomb-sniffing dogs to more of the nation's airports, agency officials insist the dogs face no imminent competition from high-tech canine equivalents. But at least one firm is offering handheld explosive detection devices that have been used over the last year at some U.S. military installations.
TSA's K-9 program is part of a "layered approach" to security that allows teams of dogs and handlers to quickly move and redeploy from one location to another among 66 participating airports, K-9 program director Dave Kontny says. While firms with other "bomb- sniffing" systems without four legs and a tail still market their products with statements like "as good as a dog," Kontny insisted that there is no technology coming down the pike for at least another five to 10 years to threaten the niche that dogs now occupy.
However, Airport Security Report has done its own sniffing around, and found a Stillwater, Okla.-based company, Nomadics, Inc., with the help of one of its business partners, L-3 Communications [LLL]. For a year now, Nomadics' handheld "Fido X" and "Fido XT" devices have been in use at various military installations, says Steve Broadway, Nomadics' vice president of marketing.
"Inspired by dogs, the gold standard in explosive detection," the Fido devices already perform at levels that are comparable to the real bomb-sniffing dogs, the company says. And although confined so far to military use, Nomadics is confident Fido...