Air Force awards chemical detection contract

ASUNCION, PARAGUAY – MAY 15: French experts in biological and chemical weapons check levels of radio activity as they inspect some 1,118 metal filled with toxic waste in a storage house in Asuncion harbor on the Paraguay River, 15 May, as part of an official investigation. The drums came from Germany as part of an alleged traffic deal cut by former Paraguayan Army Chief Gen. Lino Oviedo between 1989 and 1994. (Photo credit should read DANIEL PIRIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Spectrum Photonics has been awarded a $16.9 million contract to develop a chemical residue detection system.

The company “will develop a portable system for real-time standoff detection and identification of trace chemical residues on surfaces using active infrared spectroscopy at a 30-meter range,” according to a Department of Defense contract announcement.
 
The work is scheduled to be completed by October 2020. The contract was issued by the Air Force Research Laboratory.