ICx™ Technologies Releases Fido Scout for Explosives Detection in Maritime Settings
ICx Technologies (NASDAQ: ICXT), a developer of advanced sensor technologies for homeland security, force protection and commercial applications, announced today that its ultra-sensitive and light Fido® explosives detector has been adapted by the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety and Security Team (MSST) for wide-area explosives detection in harsh, maritime environments; it will be known as the Fido Scout.
ICx developed Fido Scout under the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) Rapid Technology Application Program (RTAP). This program was launched in 2005 to meet the rapid technology-development needs of emergency responders, and ICx was awarded a $2 million contract in November 2006 to develop an explosive-trace-detection solution for the MSST. The result, Fido Scout, has now moved from development to field testing and is receiving positive reviews.
MSST operations require wide-area explosives detection capabilities so many approaches to maritime explosives detection, such as the use of canines and technologies like ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS), do not work effectively.
Fido Scout is an enhanced version of the existing Fido XT, which will remain on the market as a leader in handheld explosives detection. As with the Fido XT, the Fido Scout is user friendly, light-weight and portable. Enhancements include a simple, four-button interface allowing for quick operability, as well as a rugged exterior for use in maritime environments, including submersion. Field testers have positively cited Fido Scout’s ease of use, durability, and adaptability to differing conditions.
ICx Fido explosives detectors utilize proprietary amplifying fluorescence polymers (AFP) to detect trace levels of explosive materials in parts-per-quadrillion (ppq), a level of detection comparable to that of highly trained, explosives-detection canines. “Achieving this gold standard of detection in a package that meets the demanding requirements of the MSST represents a significant milestone for the Fido Scout,” said Matthew Dock, senior systems engineer for the Explosives Detection Unit of ICx Technologies.
RTAP has nearly two dozen products in various development stages — from explosive, chemical, and biological countermeasures to IT, electronics and hardware, and cyber-security — but the Fido Scout is the first RTAP product to move into field testing. Full-scale production is set to begin early in 2008.
About FLIR Systems
FLIR Systems, Inc. is a world leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of sensor systems that enhance perception and awareness. The Company’s advanced thermal imaging and threat detection systems are used for a wide variety of imaging, thermography, and security applications, including airborne and ground-based surveillance, condition monitoring, research and development, manufacturing process control, search and rescue, drug interdiction, navigation, transportation safety, border and maritime patrol, environmental monitoring, and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNE) detection. Visit the Company's web site at www.FLIR.com.
The statements in this release by Earl R. Lewis, and the other statements in this release about the award described above, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including the following: the ability to manufacture and deliver the systems referenced in this release, changes in demand for the Company's products, product mix, the timing of deliveries under the award discussed above, the impact of competitive products and pricing, constraints on supplies of critical components, excess or shortage of production capacity, the ability of the Company to manufacture and ship products in the time period required, actual purchases under agreements, the Company's continuing compliance with U.S. export control laws and regulations, the timely receipt of export licenses for international shipments, the continuing eligibility of the Company to act as a federal contractor, and other risks discussed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports. In addition, such statements could be affected by general industry and market conditions and growth rates, and general domestic and international economic conditions. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release, or for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet service providers.
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Media Contacts
Angel Bennett
FLIR, Systems, Inc.
2800 Crystal Drive, Suite 330
Arlington, VA 22202
angel.bennett@flir.com
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