Qinetiq, the privatised arm of the UK MInistry of Defence, currently controlled by the Bush/Bin Laden firm Carlyle, are keen to take care of us all at sporting events.

Mr Simon Stringer, director of Qinetiq's Security and Intelligence Division said recently that he"would never encourage the use of technology for technology's sake. There may be instances, for example, where the best course of action is to change the way your security personnel are trained and briefed before an event. Alternatively, a simple process change like altering the way spectators are directed into a venue may produce the required result. However, when appropriate, properly applied and deployed technology is what the military refer to as a real force multiplier."

"The military is well versed at detailed planning for massively complex operations. To ensure preparedness they exploit a variety of tools, such as planning software, 3D modelling and synthetic environments which use highly accurate immersive models against which blast modelling and vulnerability analysis can be conducted. Other technologies and capabilities such as digital mapping, multiple sensor integration and surveillance optimisation models have consistently proven their worth to the armed forces in critical operational situations and these capabilities are increasingly available to civil security operators." he said.

"Building on its defence technology research has allowed QinetiQ to develop an in-depth understanding of how this technology and science can be applied to the security market and, in this instance, best address the threats and vulnerabilities faced by sport event organisers. With a track record in counter-terrorism and associated projects aimed at protecting the UK's critical national infrastructure we are excited by the prospect of bringing this expertise to bear in the area of event security."

(Mr Stringers comments from Security Park.Net )

No doubt all of this technological expertise would be useful for Melbourne's forthcoming Commonwealth Games, and because it exists, it probably needs to be used- there's no doubt a pre-conceived legal argument for post-attack litigation on the the grounds of culpable negligence if the maximum achievable level of security is not applied. (I've got to stop reading these sites.. learning the language!!)

Qinetiq, who have been trialing their technology at Sydney airport, are about to float on the London Stock Exchange,  Applied defence technology is expected to be the next boom (bigger than dot-com) as the resources boom subsides. 

Billionaires need new methods to profit from the populace, and this will be an easy one.

No doubt a trial at the Commonwealth Games would be useful in contract bids for events such as future Olympic Games.   Expect to hear more soon.  I wonder if we'll see Talon War Robots checking tickets?

And to think, if it weren't for the families Bin Laden and Bush, we wouldn't need the stuff! 

Welcome to the business end of the War On Terror