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SUV nuke detector will avert covert attack, company claims

SUV-mounted mobile nuclear radiation detection system protects sunshine state.

Mark Rutherford
The military establishment's ever increasing reliance on technology and whiz-bang gadgetry impacts us as consumers, investors, taxpayers and ultimately as the defended. Our mission here is to bring some of these products and concepts to your attention based on carefully selected criteria such as importance to national security, originality, collateral damage to the treasury and adaptability to yard maintenance-but not necessarily in that order. E-mail him at markr@milapp.com. Disclosure.
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Mark Rutherford
Raytheon

A turbo-charged engine, 21-inch wheels, Bluetooth, and 600-watt THX speakers are fine, but for the SUV owner who desires everything, how about a Mobile Nuclear Radiation Detection System?

Raytheon is offering the Sports Utility Vehicle-Based Radiation Detection System, which uses advanced spectroscopic technology to detect and identify nuclear radiation, whether sitting put or on the move.

Deploy quickly and set up your own checkpoint to screen for nuclear weapons, improvised nuclear devices, and dirty bombs or just cruise and troll for high gamma and stray neutrons. The system incorporates advanced threat identification algorithms that detect and identify most radiological materials.

What? You don't think you need one? Consider this. A "covert nuclear attack is the foremost threat facing the United States today," according to Raytheon. The SUV-mounted detection kit is even featured on the FEMA Web site.

This may be why the state of Florida has just ordered one. It plans to use it "to safeguard against nuclear threats on highways, bridges, overpasses, tunnels, ports of entry and public venues such as major sporting events and other large events that terrorists might consider targets." (PDF)

"These systems have been developed to meet a critical need shared by every state with a large city," said Raytheon VP Mary Petryszyn. "In this case, we are providing the state of Florida the proven capability that it needs to protect its citizens against nuclear threats."

Disney World, safe at last. Now if they can just find jobs and someone to buy their real estate.