L-3 supplies TSA with millimeter wave imaging portals for airport security  

Officials of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) needed airport security systems that use active millimeter wave (MMW) technology to identify concealed threats, including metallic items. They found their solution at L-3 Security & Detection Systems in Woburn, Mass.

TSA has accepted delivery of 30 L-3 ProVision Checkpoint Security Systems as part of a $24 million contract. TSA tested systems at Los Angeles International Airport, New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which collectively serve an estimated 140 million passengers each year.

To help ensure privacy, the product generates an image that resembles a fuzzy photo negative and all faces are blurred. Images cannot be stored and are viewed in a remote location separate from the checkpoint. During a secondary-screening pilot at Phoenix Sky Harbor, 90 percent of passengers opted to use a passenger imaging technology instead of undergoing a traditional pat-down.

ProVision is currently employed for passenger screening at some of the largest airports in the continental U.S. Overseas, ProVision is in use at several significant air hubs, L-3 officials say. ProVision is also deployed worldwide to protect critical facilities that include Federal and State Courthouses, Embassies, and border crossings. For more information, visit L-3 Communications online at www.L-3Com.com/SDS.