IONSCAN 600

The IONSCAN 600 is a benchtop ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) trace detection system used to screen swab samples from surfaces, baggage exteriors, and personnel for trace quantities of explosive residues and narcotics. The technology ionises sample particles and measures the time they take to drift through a controlled electric field; different compounds produce characteristic drift-time signatures that the algorithm compares against a library of threats.

The system detects a wide library of military, commercial, and improvised explosives — including RDX, TNT, PETN, and TATP precursors — alongside narcotics including cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl, including potent synthetic fentanyl opioids that are a growing concern at international airports. Detection and identification complete in under eight seconds from swab insertion, with warm-up from cold taking under ten minutes.

A distinctive feature is the non-radioactive IMS source, which eliminates the national nuclear regulatory licensing requirements that constrain deployment of radioactive-source trace detectors in many jurisdictions — particularly relevant for GCC airports where import and operating licences for radioactive equipment add cost and compliance burden. The 9-inch colour touchscreen with anti-reflective glass is designed for sustained operational use in bright or outdoor-adjacent environments.

In aviation, the IONSCAN 600 is used at hold baggage secondary screening positions, VIP and aircrew access controls, cargo acceptance sampling, and checkpoint secondary resolution stations. It holds TSA ACSTL approval as the first approved explosives trace detector on the air cargo screening technology list.