Homeland Security News

Satlynx, a subsidiary of GE and provider of two-way satellite broadband communication services, announced extension of a range of its Maritime VSAT services across wide portfolio of platforms including SCPC, and shared and dedicated TDMA hubs. Based on different satellites operating at Ku, extended-Ku and C-band frequencies, footprints are extensive across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and include an area of the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Oman. Inland, coverage includes the waterways of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Global coverage is currently provided via SCPC technology on dedicated bandwidth. Extended range of two way communications enhances maritime security at high seas.

Saudi - Yemen Border Fence
A Saudi border guard was shot dead on Saturday when chasing a drug smuggler along the southern border with Yemen. A recent report of Homeland Security Research Corporation forecasts that Saudi authorities will invest $20 billion over the next ten years in sealing Saudi-Iraqi and Saudi-Yemen borders. Saudi tried to built a barrier some years ago to stop arms and drug traffic along the 1,800-kilometre (1,100-mile) frontier with Yemen. This created a lot of political tension and outrage of Yemen tribes profiting for cross border drug trade. It’s logical to assume that any developments at this border will be some unobtrusive solutions, like virtual fence, aerial surveillance, satellite imaging. The Saudi border project will create opportunities for Western subcontractors in planning, installation, upgrading and maintenance of technically sophisticated systems (sensorics of all kinds and backend IT).

India - Pakistan Border Fence
There is about 200 km of international border and 720 km of Line of Control (LOC) between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir. The three-tier 3.5 metres high barbed wire fencing, about 500 metres to two kilometres inside India, and the land mine fields laid to prevent infiltration of militants. The Indian Army claims that infiltration from across the border has become negligible as the barbed wire fence and landmine fields act as a reliable deterrent.

References:

Country Profiles
Saudi Arabia
Iraq
Yemen
Pakistan
India

Maps
Middle East
South Asia

via Business Wire - BIOIDENT Technologies Inc., the company developing mobile systems analysis and diagnosis, announced today a contract for the Printed Diagnostic Arrays awarded by DARPA. The project aims to demonstrate the capabilities of biosensors with the printed integrated optoelectronics. Together with the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), BIOIDENT is developing a portable “lab-on-a-chip” detector based on microfluidic technology.

The new generation of portable diagnostic systems will perform effectively by measuring multiple parameters of tiny volumes of fluid samples quickly and with great accuracy at the point of use. However, the market of mobile applications has been hampered by cost and size of scanning devices. The elimination of cameras and other optical elements drastically reduce the size and cost of biosensor systems, offering the possibility of a handheld sensor.

via Business Wire - StreetLab Mobile is the next generation, point-and-shoot handheld unknown substance identification system developed by GE Security, Inc. Using Raman Spectroscopy for data capture and analysis, StreetLab Mobile consumes little or no substance sample and makes it easy for the operator to understand and share results. The handheld unit uses extended-range wireless technology to allow first responders to quickly deliver accurate results from the field to tactical commanders at remote command centers. The Raman Spectroscopy-based device’s chemical substance identification capability is expected to be complemented soon by the addition of biological substance identification capability. The biological identification upgrade is expected to make StreetLab Mobile the first combined chem-bio detector.

StreetLab Mobile is presently capable of identifying more than one thousand potentially dangerous chemicals, including toxic industrial substances such as formaldehyde and liquid and solid explosives, as well as the chemical components of common explosives. It can also identify chemicals such as Cresol and Benzene, exposure to which can have serious health consequences. It is expected that StreetLab Mobile will be able to recognize many biological substances when the bio component becomes available.

Utilizing Raman Spectroscopy, StreetLab Mobile identifies substances based on their molecular structure. Raman technology works by analyzing the interactions of light with the sample’s chemical bonds, allowing a sample to be analyzed without being consumed or destroyed in most cases.

Demand for security equipment and services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is forecast to reach cumulative 115 billion in 2008 - 2018. Advances will be supported by the ongoing need to detect, analyze, react and mitigate numerous threats facing Saudi Arabian establishment. The growing interest in RFID and biometrics will also benefit demand for ID management services. Ongoing concern over smuggling nuclear devices will aid implementation of next generation scanning machines in Saudi airports and seaports. These and other trends, including market segments and company profiles, are presented in Saudi Arabia Homeland Security Market Outlook - 2009-2018, a new study from Homeland Security Research Corporation, a Washington-based defence and security industry research firm.

Related Links:
Multiple Factors Ensure Robust Saudi Defense Market
Middle East Map
Saudi Oil Industry Security Market

LaserCard Corporation, a provider of secure ID solutions, announced an additional order of $2.9 million to supply secure identity cards for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s national ID program. Read more…

Since September 11 international Islamic terrorism has become the primary threat to security of the West, particularly the United States. The mass media, in general, have treated the phenomenon mainly focusing on the emotional and spectacular side or focusing their attention on the issue of religious conflict. [Read more →]

Below are excerpts from testimony of Dr. Jim Walsh, Research Associate , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at the hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. [Read more →]

Emergency management and disaster recovery prove to become growing sectors in the recession prone U.S. economy. According to FEMA data and private sector sources the emergency management industry will employ 1.6 mln people and spend $65 Bln on wages alone by year 2012. There are many emergency services involved in handling an emergency. The planning phase starts at formulating contingency plans, where the agencies decide on how they will act in a given emergency. Response phase includes execution of contingency plans with some elements of improvisation, due to inevitable gaps between planning and reality. Recovery after the incident and mitigation involve assistance to the people to overcome mental and physical traumas as well as minimizing damage. All these efforts require an army of professionals in “standby” mode.

While spending billions on disaster management is a heavy burden even for healthy economies, lessons of Louisiana, Thailand and, more recently, Myanmar demonstrate that lack of preparedness costs even more dearly.

These are results of homeland security / defense industry survey conducted by Homeland Security Research Corporation:

Here is the answer.