The TSWG IED Instant Notification App (INS) is now available free to all Unites States bomb technicians. The App designed by the Force Protection product group of Applied Research Associates, provides a way for bomb technicians responding to a suspect device or vehicle to share relevant information with fellow bomb squads while en-route or at the incident site. Information can be updated with a few clicks on a smartphone dropdown menu upon resolution of the incident or during ongoing investigations. The launch of this App represents the first time in the history of U.S. bomb disposal that bomb technicians have been able to share threat, incident, and device information instantaneously.
There are currently 467 active bomb squads in the United States. TSWG has licensed the INS App for download by every certified Public Safety Bomb Technician and NBSCAB account user. The App is now available for download on the Google Play store, and will be available for download on the iPhone in June. The App allows users to define in what geographic area they receive alerts, over what period of time, with what other squads they want to collaborate (mutual aid with other agencies), and what additional information (event category, event location, instant messaging notes, etc.) they wish to share. INS supports not only the teams directly involved in a response by providing a consistent electronic record of incidents and events, but also notifies the Bomb Arson Tracking System (BATS) database, making this information more readily available to investigators nationwide.
