Officials at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, have offered the base as a semi-permanent test site for the Idaho Explosives Detection System, developed by the Energy Department’s Idaho National Laboratory to detect explosives hidden in vehicles. The system uses neutron generators to “interrogate” a vehicle and cause transported materials to emit gamma rays whose explosive signatures can be identified and relayed to a laptop computer within 300 seconds. IEDS program manager Jeff Klinger says the system at Wright-Patt is “quick, inexpensive, and reliable.”
WATCH: Space as the Backbone of Integrated Defense
Feb. 20, 2026
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.orgSpace enables integrated defense to function as a unified, resilient architecture rather...



