The emergence of homemade explosive threats is a challenge for aviation security. The Secondary Screening Technology Development Program focuses on research, development, testing and evaluation of the next generation of explosive trace detectors (ETDs) to enhance explosive detection capabilities across the Homeland Security Enterprise, including:
- Transportation Security Administration
- Customs and Border Protection
- The United States Secret Service
- The United States Coast Guard
The program is working to enhance the capabilities of currently deployed ETDs and to develop the next generation of ETDs with capabilities such as specific identification of explosive threats, upgradable threat libraries and advanced sampling methodologies, including contact and non-contact sampling. The program also invests in scientific efforts that provide broadly applicable and foundational research to benefit the trace explosives detection R&D community. Examples include the characterization of explosive threats and their signatures, contact and non-contact sampling tools and methods, and other tools to enhance detection of homemade explosives.