OSI Systems Inc. has received a $27 million award to expand its explosive trace-detection system at airports.

The contract is going to the Hawthorne-based company’s security division and involves supplying the product at a “leading” European airport for secondary screening of passengers and carry-on baggage at airport security checkpoints. 

OSI did not respond to a request for comment on the airport’s name or the customer that awarded the contract. 

The product involved in the award, called the Itemiser 5X, is a portable desktop software system that detects dual-mode explosives and narcotics. Itemiser 5X is designed by Torrance-based Rapiscan Systems Inc., a subsidiary of OSI.

OSI Chief Executive Deepak Chopra said in statement that the company is “pleased” by the award.

“(We) look forward to delivering over multiple years our advanced technology portable explosive trace-detection systems that are specifically designed to detect particles of explosives that might be present on carry-on luggage, personal belongings or even on passengers themselves,” Chopra said.

The Itemiser 5X is designed to process sample swabs from sources such as packages, clothing or skin. Using a nonreactive ionization source, it can detect a “broad range” of explosives and narcotics, including synthetic opioids, and can analyze results in about eight seconds. The product was qualified last year by the Transportation Security Administration to be on the agency’s Air Cargo Screening Technology List.

Prior to the $27 million contract award, OSI signed more than $65 million of contracts in January. This included a $59 million contract from an overseas customer to provide cargo- and vehicle-inspection systems, as well as a $4 million contract with a global air cargo-logistics provider for advanced security inspection systems. Its Spacelabs Healthcare division recieved a $5 million order from a U.S. hospital for patient-monitoring solutions and related supplies. None of the customers were identified.

At a recent conference, OSI chief financial officer and executive vice president Alan Edrick said that about 60% of OSI’s revenue comes from Rapiscan Systems and its X-ray products and trace-detection systems for the aviation industry. 

“We’ve come out with some of the fastest and best imaging out there,” Edrick said. “It’s really quite exciting, and we really think we’re on the forefront. We always look to be the technology leaders in the security detection space.”