Raytheon to develop rail car scanners

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TEWKSBURY, Mass., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Homeland Security Department has contracted Raytheon to develop a rail car scanning system for the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.

U.S. company Raytheon says its Integrated Defense Systems unit has been selected to support a Homeland Security Department initiative to strengthen nuclear threat detection capabilities for rail cars at ports of entry, courier facilities and airports among other locations.

Raytheon received $4.3 million in funding to develop a series of panels that advance the detection of nuclear material and other illicit threats as part of the company's Advanced Spectroscopic portfolio. Raytheon will be expected to deliver the next-generation rail car scanning technology for evaluation in the summer.

"National safety depends on our ability to design and field early-detection systems that can identify such threats as improvised nuclear devices, nuclear weapons, and devices that disperse radiological materials," Mary Petryszyn, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems vice president of civil security and response programs, said in a statement.

"So this is a high-priority program within Homeland Security Department and a key component of Domestic Nuclear Detection Office efforts."