Northrop’s NG-ADS successfully completes field test

Northrop Grumman’s Next Generation Automated Detection System (NG-ADS) has successfully completed field test at an undisclosed location in the US and is all set to enter the next phase of the programme.

During the field test, the fully automated biological detection system collected more than 20,000 samples and analysed them in a variety of indoor and outdoor locations and successfully provided the feedback to the officials.

The NG-ADS has undergone further enhancements since the completion of field test to improve performance of the system while reducing life-cycle costs.

Northrop Grumman’s Electronic Systems sector Homeland Security programmes director Dave Tilles said, "Early warning provided by an automated detection system such as the NG-ADS will allow the nation’s public health and public safety officials to proactively manage the response to a biological event to reduce exposure and treat the affected population to minimize casualties."

The NG-ADS has been designed in response to concerns that the US lacks equipment to respond to a potential biological attack.

As a competitor for the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) future BioWatch Gen-3 Phase II acquisition, the NG-ADS will be deployed to provide early warning of a biological attack in major areas across the US.

Featuring life-saving capability, the NG-ADS is a fully autonomous bio-detector that continuously collects and analyses air samples to detect the presence of multiple biological pathogens.

The results of the data collected will be automatically reported to public health officials on a daily basis, multiple times through a secure data network.

Request for proposals are expected to be announced by the DHS in the latter part of 2012.