Smiths Detection wins $27m US Chemical Detector order
Mal Maginnis (above), President of Smiths Detection, said: “The threat from a wide range of chemical weapons is both real and immediate and one that the military must be fully equipped to combat. This latest order for our state-of-the art detectors establishes the JCAD program as by far the most important in the history of Smiths Detection.”
The JCAD program is based on Smiths Detection's LCD 3.3, an advanced, light-weight, threat detection device that can be easily strapped to a belt. The LCD protects troops in the field by constantly sampling the air for the presence of chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals.
The enhanced M4A1 JCADs, which have started delivery, are manufactured in Smiths Detection’s facility at Edgewood, Md. The plant, which employs nearly 250 people, recently expanded to help meet demand from the US military for the JCAD programme. It is the main US manufacturing plant for X-ray and a range of chemical warfare detection systems.
Smiths Detection - part of Smiths Group - designs and makes advanced solutions to detect and identify threats including explosives, chemical agents, biohazards, nuclear, radiation, narcotics, weapons and contraband. A market leader worldwide in providing layered security technologies, Smiths Detection has plants in eight US states. It partners federal and state government agencies and first responders to strengthen homeland security and safeguard the military. Major customers include the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Smiths Group employs around 23,000 people, including more than 9,000 in the US where it operates around 100 sites in 40 states.
