As millions of people get ready to fly this Thanksgiving, travelers may wonder why they are required to remove their shoes, belts and computers from their carry-on baggage. The answer is to help Transportation Security Administration screeners catch bombs or the components to make them.
In 2010, the TSA began installing hundreds of advanced imaging technology (AIT) units, also known as “full-body scanners,” designed to detect non-metallic weapons and explosives that may be concealed under clothing. These scanners use sophisticated algorithms to create 3D images that can be rotated and analyzed by TSA officers. TSA invited 10TV to go behind the scenes to see how it tests its screeners to spot fake bombs.
Read more…
Source: MSN News
Sign up for Counter-IED Report Newsletter
Related:
- Indiana woman made bombs out of Monster Energy cans, wanted to blow up a high school
May 30, 2025
A southern Indiana woman faces a felony charge after police say she made various homemade explosives, including bombs made with Monster Energy cans. Ahnna I. Tipton, 19, faces a possession of a destructive device charge after being arrested Thursday in Evansville. The charge stems from alleged explosive devices police found while Tipton was at the hospital. ...
- CBRNE Soldiers prove combat readiness at Best Squad Competition on Fort Carson
May 22, 2025
FORT CARSON, Colo. – Soldiers from the U.S. Department of Defense’s premier Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) formation honed their skills and demonstrated their combat readiness during the Best Squad Competition, May 12 – 16. Sgt. 1st Class Bobby Poling, Sgt. Daniel Arocha, Spc. Justin Terrel, Pfc. Blake Morris and Pvt. Conner Wilson from the ...
- Washington, DC: Two Israeli Embassy staff members killed outside the Capital Jewish museum
May 22, 2025
A suspect is in custody after two Israeli embassy staff members were killed in a shooting near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, police said. The man and woman killed on Wednesday night were a “young couple about to be engaged,” according to the Israeli ambassador to the US. The suspect was identified as Elias ...
- Virginia: New research center aims to elevate nation’s drone defense
May 21, 2025
A new Virginia Tech effort will take aim at bolstering the nation’s defenses against uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), commonly called drones. A recent $5 million award from the U.S. Army Futures Command Combat Capabilities Development Command C5ISR Center will augment capabilities at the existing Counter UAS Research and Testing Center that will include an unparalleled ecosystem ...
- U.S. Air Force holds epic exercise to blow stuff up, calls it ‘EPIC CRAB’
May 21, 2025
Airmen walk away from an explosive detonation during EPIC CRAB 25 Exercise at Northwest Field, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, May 1, 2025. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Adasha Williams. In the pantheon of great names for military exercises, few can rival “EPIC CRAB,” which pays tribute to the unique culture of the ...
- Data-as-a-Product: A Force Multiplier for CBRN Defense
May 20, 2025
Biological agents have become cheaper, faster, and easier for adversaries to engineer and employ due to advancements in science and technology. Though defeating these dynamic threats can be challenging, the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense’s (JPEO-CBRND) Joint Project Lead for CBRND Enabling Biotechnologies (JPL CBRND EB) is using the ...
- Michigan: Pipe bombs found in abandoned vehicle in Saginaw
May 20, 2025
Authorities discovered pipe bombs in an abandoned vehicle in Saginaw this week thanks, in part, to an explosive-sniffing K9, according to the Saginaw Police Department. A Saginaw officer and police dog were dispatched Monday, May 19 to Mike’s Wrecker, located at 2522 Hess Ave. in Saginaw, on reports of suspicious pipes found in an abandoned truck ...
- US airport security agency does not rule out privatization
May 20, 2025
The acting head of Transportation Security Administration said on Tuesday the agency did not rule out considering a plan to privatize the government agency while defending a proposed cut for screening officers. “Nothing is off the table,” Acting TSA Administrator Ha McNeill said at U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee hearing. “If new privatization schemes make sense, then ...
- Using sound to ‘see’ unexploded munitions on the seafloor
May 19, 2025
More than 400 underwater sites in the United States are potentially contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) — weapons that did not explode upon deployment, which continue to pose a safety concern. Corrosion and growth make UXOs difficult to observe with standard sonar imaging techniques, as the objects begin to lose resemblance to their original appearance andblend ...
- California: Days after Palm Springs bombing at fertility clinic scene still active with investigators
May 19, 2025
Investigators remain on the scene working to gather evidence two days after 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus was identified as the suspect allegedly responsible for an explosion at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, Calif. On Saturday, the FBI confirmed Bartkus, a resident of Twentynine Palms, as the suspect they believe set off a car bomb at ...
- North Carolina: ‘Improvised’ explosive device, $41K in stolen property seized from Burke County house
May 19, 2025
An “improvised” explosive device and over $41,000 in stolen property were seized from a house in Burke County last week, according to deputies. Amid the investigation, 40-year-old Harrel Powell Jr. was arrested. Records showed he was jailed under a $70,000 secured bond and faces multiple charges, including felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction. The ...
- California: Palm Springs fertility clinic ‘targeted’ in explosion that leaves one dead and at least 4 others injured
May 18, 2025
At least one person is dead and four others injured in a Palm Springs, California, explosion outside a fertility clinic, Akil Davis, the FBI’s assistant director in charge of Los Angeles’ field office, said Saturday. The FBI is still working to confirm the identity of the person who died, Davis said at a Saturday news conference. ...
- UK: Delivering homemade explosives manufacturing training
May 16, 2025
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) enabled the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to deliver training on homemade explosives (HME) manufacturing for the UK and other partner nations in early 2025, at Cranfield Ordnance Test and Evaluation Centre (COTEC). The FBI was supported by Dstl’s Forensic Explosives Laboratory (FEL) to successfully carry ...
- Idaho: Boise police discover explosive devices during drug investigation
May 16, 2025
Boise police officers discovered multiple suspected improvised explosive devices while serving a search warrant related to a narcotics investigation, according to a Facebook post by the Boise Police Department. The discovery occurred on Alfred Court when Neighborhood Contact Officers initially found suspected narcotics and drug paraphernalia before uncovering the potentially dangerous devices. Due to the suspected ...
- Illinois: Pekin police arrest two after search turns up explosives, weapons and drugs
May 15, 2025
Two suspects were arrested Wednesday in Pekin after an incident involving multiple law enforcement agencies, armored vehicles and the evacuation of nearby residences and businesses, according to police. Tyler J. Whitney and Ryan M. Brown were taken into custody and arrested on drug and weapons charges, Pekin police chief Seth Ranney said in a release. During ...
- Michigan: Former National Guardsman allegedly plotted ISIS-inspired attack on military facility near Detroit
May 14, 2025
A former member of Michigan’s Army National Guard was arrested for allegedly plotting to carry out an ISIS-inspired mass attack on a military facility near Detroit, according to newly unsealed court records. Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, allegedly engaged in detailed attack planning to carry out a mass shooting at the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command, ...
- Explosive Ordnance Disposal techs support US Army recruiting at Long Beach Grand Prix
May 14, 2025
LONG BEACH, Calif. – U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians supported Army recruiters at one of the biggest motorsports events in the western United States. Army EOD technicians from the Fort Irwin, California-based 759th Ordnance Company (EOD) helped Army recruiting efforts at the Long Beach Grand Prix. The Army EOD techs talked with potential recruits about ...
- Quantico EOD called to remove WWII-era mortar from Virginia home
May 12, 2025
In central Virginia, it’s not uncommon to unearth relics from Civil War battles. But finding a 50mm French mortar dating to World War II hidden in your backyard is something else entirely. That’s what happened to Hunter Vap, a Marine veteran and resident of Orange, Virginia. After a midnight encounter with an ancient piece of unexploded ...
- Cambodia: Battambang farmer unearths 250-pound US bomb, as UK assesses demining funding
May 12, 2025
HALO Trust Cambodia responded to an unusual Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) call-out over the weekend, when a farmer excavating his land in Battambang province’s Samlout district discovered a Mk81 bomb. The district is one of the most landmine contaminated areas in Cambodia, however finding large air-dropped bombs in this part of the country is rare. HALO ...
- TSA’s paw-tnership with law enforcement
May 12, 2025
Did you know TSA’s Canine Training Center (CTC) also trains canines deployed by local and state law enforcement teams in our airports and mass transit locations? The TSA CTC partners with over 100 local and state law enforcement agencies across the country, training several explosives detection canines for our partners each year. Although the specific location ...
- North Carolina: Expect explosive noises near Cherry Point, airfields in May
May 9, 2025
Officials with Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point said Friday that residents near the air station and its outlying airfields can expect multiple military training operations throughout May. Ground training will be conducted at Marine Outlying Field Atlantic, May 12-16 and will include improvised explosive device simulator that produce sounds mimicking explosives detonations, officials said. While ...
- U.S. Senator Katie Britt, Director Kash Patel Reaffirm Commitment to FBI Redstone Arsenal
May 9, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.), a member of the Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee on Appropriations, participated in a hearing for the Trump Administration’s Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Budget Request for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with FBI Director Kash Patel. Senator Britt began her line of questioning by thanking Director Patel ...