TSA Ready to Kick-Off New EDS Competition.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) shortly plans to start a long awaited competition to purchase explosive detection systems (EDS) used to screen checked baggage at the nation's airports, with contract awards expected in December, agency officials say.

TSA expects to begin soliciting proposals this month for three categories of EDS and plans to conduct a lot of testing prior to the contract awards, Jenel Kline, program manager, Electronic Baggage Screening Program, Office of Security Technology at TSA, said at last month's Aviation Security Summit hosted by the American Association of Airport Executives. The EDS categories are high-speed, medium-speed and reduced size.

A draft Request for Proposals for the open procurement was released in October. EDS are computed tomography (CT)-based X-Ray systems that can automatically detect explosives in checked baggage. TSA currently buys the systems from three companies: Morpho Detection, which is part of France's SAFRAN Group, L-3 Communications [LLL] and Reveal Imaging Technologies.

L-3 has systems …