Smiths Detection awarded additional $28.5M contract by U.S. military

Smiths Detection today announced that its military division has been awarded an additional $28.5 Million contract to supply the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) with advanced lightweight detectors under its Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) program.

The latest order takes to $52.3 million the total awarded this year to Smiths Detection under the U.S. Military’s JCAD program, following a $23.8 Million Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract in March 2008.

Stephen Phipson, Group Managing Director, Smiths Detection said: "We are delighted to have received our second major JCAD order this year, highlighting Smiths Detection’s position as world leader in chemical agent detection."

The M4 JCAD is a modified version of Smiths Detection’s Lightweight Chemical Detector (LCD) which has been widely adopted for military use. It alarms both to Chemical Warfare Agents (CWAs) and Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICs). Weighing less than 2 pounds, it is smaller and lighter than other models while providing more accurate information to those in the field. It also benefits from the use of a non-radioactive technology compared with previous generations of detectors.

Mal Maginnis, President, Smiths Detection-Global Military and Emergency Responders, said: "We are pleased that our LCD units are effectively providing troops with advanced chemical threat detection. The M4 JCAD has the capability of two instruments in one; a point detector monitoring air for chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals as well as a survey instrument that can check for contamination."

Smiths Detection, part of the Global technology business Smiths Group, became involved with the JCAD program in 2004 by supplying LCD units for evaluation into Increment 1, culminating with its selection as the most capable detector in June 2007. In the same year, Smiths Detection was selected to participate in the first major phase of Increment 2 of the JCAD program and supplied the DoD with multiple detectors for evaluation over the following year.

Smiths Detection has deployed over 130,000 chemical detectors around the world, including more than 41,000 GID-3 units supplied since 1998 to fulfil the DoD’s ACADA program. Smiths Detection is committed to continuing development and providing the most advanced technology to those on the front lines.