Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc

Thermo Fisher openly markets an integrated suite of analytical technologies to the defense industry via a dedicated Defense Applications division. Their XRF and LIBS analyzers verify specialized alloys used in military aerospace, naval vessels, and armor. FTIR and Raman spectrometers characterize propellants, identify chemical agents, and research explosives. XRD technology identifies residual stress in defense ceramics, composites, and mission-critical parts. These are not incidental dual-use sales — the company maintains a specific defense applications webpage and markets directly to military procurement. Modern weapons manufacturing depends on precisely the kind of material characterization Thermo Fisher specializes in.

Thermo Fisher's RapidHIT ID system has been used by ICE and CBP since 2019 for rapid DNA testing of migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border. AFSC documents that families found not to be biologically related faced criminal charges including human trafficking, leading to family separations and deportations. ICE continued subjecting families to this testing after the pilot program was supposed to end. Thermo Fisher has sold over $1.3 million in products directly to ICE, including an $880,000 contract with ICE Dallas for chemical analysis equipment. A Thermo Fisher subsidiary signed a $120 million contract with the FBI in 2022 to provide reagents and equipment for processing DNA samples from detained migrants into the federal CODIS database. DHS mandates DNA collection from nearly every person in ICE custody, and Thermo Fisher is the primary company profiting from the processing phase.

Thermo Fisher supplied DNA sequencing equipment to Chinese police in Xinjiang used for mass biometric surveillance of the Uyghur Muslim minority. A 2017 Human Rights Watch report revealed the company's equipment was central to building a massive biometric database of the persecuted population. AP's 2025 investigation found the DNA kits were specifically designed for Uyghur population profiling. Further investigations by Citizen Lab and Human Rights Watch documented Chinese authorities conducting involuntary mass DNA collection in Tibet — including blood draws from children as young as five — using Thermo Fisher profiling kits. The company halted Xinjiang sales in 2019 under intense public pressure, and quietly ceased Tibet kit sales in mid-2023. However, AFSC reports that 2021 investigations revealed Thermo Fisher was still doing business with Chinese security agencies after the announced halt. The Henrietta Lacks family sued Thermo Fisher in 2021 for unjust enrichment from mass-producing her living tissue without consent, raising broader questions about the company's approach to biological material ethics.