American Science and Engineering ("AS&E"), supplier of innovative X-ray detection solutions, announced a research and development contract award under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate's Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program to design and build a prototype to screen general aviation aircraft. This is a Phase II follow-on award to a successful Phase I study of the general aviation screening problem. The prototype will combine AS&E's advanced Z Backscatter technology with an innovative portable platform to provide complete aircraft coverage in an efficient one-man operation.

General aviation (GA) accounts for a majority of all flights in the United States, other than military and scheduled airline and cargo flights, and encompass a wide-range of on-demand flights (not routinely scheduled) such as emergency medical flights and corporate flights.

"This program award is another example of how AS&E's unique Z Backscatter technology can solve critical customer problems," said Anthony Fabiano, AS&E's President and CEO. "Our innovative system will provide DHS with a portable inspection solution that can be customized to screen general aviation aircraft for threats and contraband. This prototype builds on work already in progress at AS&E to miniaturize Z Backscatter screening systems and is transferrable for use in nearly every X-ray scanning or inspection mission."