WILMINGTON, Mass. – Ahura Scientific, Inc., a leader in handheld systems for chemicalentification, today announced the most recent software update for its flagship FirstDefender®, a lightweight, rugged, Raman instrument for rapid, field-basedentification of unknown solid and liquid chemicals. With FirstDefender 2.6.4, Ahura Scientific has expanded the number of compounds in its on-board chemical library, broadened the foreign language capabilities and introduced a new scan delay feature. As part of this update, Ahura Scientific has expanded FirstDefender’s library to more than 7,600 pure chemical substances, including the threats of most concern to military and public safety personnel as well as innocuous materials that may trigger hoax events. The library extension, including additional industrial materials and intermediates, is part of Ahura Scientific’s ongoing commitment to ensure its customers are equipped to handle new and emerging threats, as well as those faced on a daily basis. With its automatic mixture analysis, FirstDefender enables first responders to confidentlyentify a vast number of chemical combinations found in the field. Furthering its commitment to global markets, the new software release expands FirstDefender’s graphical user interface to a total of six languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, German and French. Foreign language configurations, including fully-translated substance libraries and on-board chemical information, will also be available in each of these languages to better allow customers around the globe to rapidly respond to possible chemical threats. In addition to the library expansion and increase in language support, Ahura Scientific has introduced a new scan delay feature particularly sought by explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialists, which allows users to delay FirstDefender activation. “Our customer commitment ensures that Ahura Scientific products continue to meet the needs of military, first response and public safety personnel,” said Doug Kahn, chairman and CEO of Ahura Scientific, Inc. “As new chemical threats emerge, we must ensure our customers have access to the latest information and tools in order to better protect themselves and their communities. Ongoing enhancements like this allow our users stay ahead of the curve by quickly and easily updating their equipment wherever they may be.” FirstDefender is a lightweight, rugged instrument for rapidentification of unknown solids and liquids, including narcotics, toxic industrial materials (TIMs), explosives, white powders and more. Certified to MIL-STD 810F specifications for ruggedness, FirstDefender offers the superior performance, portability, accuracy and durability required by today's military and civilian first responders. The FirstDefender 2.6.4 software update is now available to all Ahura Scientific customers with active support contracts, which include software and library updates, hardware warranty, and 24/7 customer support for around-the-clock access to Ahura Scientific’s technical team. For more information about the FirstDefender 2.6.4 software update, contact Ahura Scientific Customer Support: product.support@ahurascientific.com; 800.374.1992 (domestic toll-free); +1.978.642.1100 (international); or visit www.ahurascientific.com For more information about FirstDefender, contact sales@ahurascientific.com About Ahura Scientific, Inc. Ahura Scientific Inc. develops rugged, ultra-compact, field-enabled optical systems for the immediateentification and authentication of liquid and solid chemical substances. Customers include agencies and companies in the homeland security, life sciences, industrial and medical markets. Manufactured in the USA in an ISO 9001-certified facility, the company's products offer exceptional portability and unparalleled performance. For more information, visit www.ahurascientific.com.