The technology firm Qinetiq will reportedly launch an airport scanner that can see straight through several layers of clothing later this month, as part of the ongoing “war against terror”.

According to The Independent newspaper, the system has been successfully trialled at Gatwick airport and will be shown at this year’s Farnborough air show. The newspaper reports that though the scanner can reveal the naked image of a traveller no matter what they are wearing, the machines have “fig-leaf” technology that can blur areas that need screening out.

The scanners have been designed to detect items such as guns, knives and hand grenades, though they are sensitive enough to show pacemakers and metal pins used to fix broken bones, The Independent reports.

 The managing director of Qinetiq’s transport section, Duncan Valentine, is quoted as saying: “The launch is a significant development in the fight against terrorism and we foresee millimetre wave technology becoming to people screening what X-ray is now to people screening.”

The newspaper reports that operators will be “thoroughly screened to ensure their motives are not prurient or voyeuristic”.