A $3Billion FY 2009 Federal Grant funding request for inland U.S. counter IED measures (a 14% raise from 2008’s budget) signifies not only the unprecedented effort the U.S. Federal government is placing on this potential threat, but also its dire need to develop technologies that can address it. According to a recent research report by Homeland Security Research Corp. (HSRC), 2008-2012 Global Counter-IED Markets and Technologies Forecast, novel approaches to detecting threats from buried IEDs, suicide bombers and vehicle-borne IEDs (VBIED) will be deployed in a variety of locations with a forecast increased demand for standoff suicide bombers detection systems.
U.S. Counter-IED Equipment Market by Tactical Segments Forecast by [%] 2012
The technologies developed and deployed with the estimated $20 Billion spent on counter-IED measures in Iraq have little if any application for the inland threat. At a cost of $500k to $1M a piece, armored vehicles are useless in urban America. So are the cell phone jammers and the entire network designed to notice changes in roads (by comparing aerial photography products using powerful image analysis software). New technologies will be required to meet the evolving Homeland Security urban needs, and a growing market will reward those that will be able to deliver these solutions.
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The way to counter the homeland threat from terrorism and organises crime is through education and training of the First responder and private security operative. Giving them the skills to recognise IEDs and component parts, the methodology and the aims and objectives of the adversary; linked into ICS and NIMS. Private security and First responder agencies need to work han in glove if the threats from terrorism are to be defeatd within our borders.