The Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate (RCMD) uses the high-energy X-ray generator to assess large, thick-walled items in a variety of configurations.
This generator can be used independently, in conjunction with a suitable detector, or on CMA RCMD’s Large Item X-ray System, (LIXS), allowing for increased image resolution for thick-walled and overpacked munitions. The high-energy X-ray generator has an output of up to 6 million electron volts (MeV), whereas the standard X-ray generator used on the LIXS and the Digital Radiography and Computed Tomography system has an output of 300 kiloelectron volts(keV). This higher-energy generator can penetrate up to eight inches of steel and up to 30 inches of concrete and other non-steel material.
RCMD’s future development efforts, which will be conducted at Idaho National Laboratory, include adapting the LIXS and DRCT for X-ray assessment of items of interest that may require higher-energy systems.