1. A sensing and detection system for detecting materials of interest associated with transporting cargo by air, comprising: an illumination system of an aircraft for imposing electromagnetic energy on targets located throughout the aircraft; a sensing system of the aircraft for automatically scanning the targets for presence of materials of interest; an optical component of the aircraft for receiving photon signals representative of change information of the materials of interest; a detection component that outputs detection data indicative of the presence of the materials of interest based on the change information; and a notification component of the aircraft for generating a notification signal in response to sensing one or more of the materials of interest.