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Archive for the ‘CBRNE’ Category

Soldiers Provide Input on Microsensor Tech Developed in Partnership with ROK

Tuesday, November 19th, 2024

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — This year, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center hosted a Soldier touchpoint event at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Edgewood, Maryland to test out new unmanned drones equipped with a set of microsensors developed in conjunction with the Republic of Korea’s Agency for Defense Development, or ROK ADD. Soldier touchpoints are one of the first major milestones in testing a potential technology to be fielded.

The microsensor effort began as a partnership between the Center and ROK ADD in 2018 to successfully meet the stringent form-factor requirements set forth by the customer. Kevin Wan, a DEVCOM CBC chemical engineer and project manager for the microchemical sensor effort, called in ROK ADD for assistance with the 3-gram sensor size requirement while his team focused on suitable use cases. Both centers pushed to complete their collaborative effort in time for this upcoming user assessment.

“The design space was quite limiting to begin with, so we worked with our Korean partners to get this working on a three-gram payload,” said Wan. “The hornet drones are great at intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, but adding chemical-sensing capabilities would further its use cases — this is what we primarily wanted to focus on.”

The effort came to a head on July 31, 2024, when the center hosted Soldiers from the U.S. Army Reserve’s 455 Chemical Brigade, headquartered in Sloan, Nevada, as well as their partners from ROK ADD, which serves as their DEVCOM equivalent, in an exercise where all participants could give concerted feedback on the drones and sensors.

Initial funding for the project came from DEVCOM Soldier Center in Natick, Massachusetts, which had the need for a sensor weighing no more than three grams. This form factor would specifically fit on the Black Hornet III, a currently fielded minuscule drone platform weighing in at 38 grams. The project received funding from the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy International Cooperation Office’s Coalition Warfare Program and other organizations.

Wan and his team shifted their focus on the sensor’s early warning detection capabilities against a chemical threat — whether it may be a nerve or blister agent. They then focused their efforts on redundancy and reliability to increase detection. “Having two independent sensors provide the same response would increase the confidence of detection,” said Wan. “That redundancy and reliability coupled with a low limit of detection for early warning is critical to us and our Soldiers.”

To test their prototypes, DEVCOM CBC invited CBRN specialists to learn how to fly these drones and run a simulated scenario involving piloting the Black Hornets into various tents in an enclosed space with one of the tents housing a simulated agent. Cpl. Brittney Batimana, one of the Soldiers involved, said that the new drones would increase Soldiers’ safety and mission success.

“It’s pretty simple — once you get comfortable with the camera’s point of view, it’s easy to identify your targets,” said Batimana. “Our job is to identify and decontaminate hazards: this is just another way for us to always stay prepared if a situation were to ever turn chemical.”

The collaborative effort between the two centers was evident throughout the Soldier touchpoint and mirrored the success of this joint development process. “We love to work together with our partners,” said Wan. “Highly competent and highly intelligent. What we both want to see going forward are more use cases and increasing the library of threats that can be detected.” This sentiment was further echoed by Dr. Myung Kyu Park, Wan’s ROK ADD counterpart and micro chemical sensor project manager: “We do very well together — [they] worked very hard to see that these sensors work.”

Increasing the library of substances to detect would include various explosives, narcotics or industrial chemicals, furthering the drone’s use cases significantly beyond the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance realm. With the success of the Soldier touchpoint exercise, Wan and his team know that the form factor lends itself to an even wider variety of scenarios.

By Parker Martin

CHAPPIE: An Innovative Advancement in CBRN Defense

Wednesday, November 13th, 2024

BUCKLEY SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) —

Buckley Space Force Base is home to one of the Defense Department’s only two chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicles.

“You spend enough time around him and start to forget he’s a QUGV,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Dominic Garcia, Installation Office of Emergency Management section chief. Garcia refers to this innovative QUGV, affectionately known as CHAPPIE, representing a significant technological advancement in CBRN defense.

CHAPPIE, one of the only two QUGVs in the DoD repurposed for CBRN field operations, stands out with its extensive list of capabilities and customizations. These include remote CBRN sensing capabilities using our current inventory of detectors, which distinguishes it from other systems and makes it a significant technological advancement in CBRN defense.

“This QUGV is not only an operational game-changer for CBRN defense but also serves as a proof of concept for technological innovation within the Air and Space Forces,” Garcia explained. “The AFWERX vehicle allows end-users from the force, regardless of rank, to collaborate directly with industry to develop what the multi-capable warfighter needs at the speed of relevance, not 10-15 years later.” AFWERX, an investment program and the Department of the Air Force’s innovation arm accelerates agile and affordable capability transitions by teaming innovative technology developers with Airman and Guardian talent.

Garcia’s passion for this project dates back six years to his time at Dyess Air Force Base. “The idea came after a deployment to Syria where we were locating and destroying ISIS chemical weapons while facing novel chemicals,” Garcia recalled. “I thought there had to be a safer and faster way. In 2022, while stationed at Minot, I applied for a Small Business Innovation Research Grant through AFWERX. I received $1.24 million to develop a remote CBRN sensing capability using our current inventory of detectors. Within 20 months, we reached 90% of our goal, conducting tests at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and Dugway Proving Ground.”

CHAPPIE is more than just a tool for saving lives and improving CBRN efficiency. According to Garcia, it represents a legacy of innovation and a testament to the power of new ideas. “The QUGV’s functionality provides a significant capability to support every mission at every base across the Air and Space Force. The message ingrained in this project transcends to every Airman and Guardian, emphasizing the importance of innovation.”

Garcia’s message extends to all enlisted and commissioned Airmen across all branches. He emphasizes, “Every service member has unique skills, knowledge or background that should be leveraged. Leaders should offer empowering words of support. Rank does not define intelligence, capability or competency. Many high-potential grassroots innovations and ideas never advance past the first line of supervision. We need to start recognizing and promoting these innovations to meet current challenges.” This recognition of the potential in every service member is what drives the success of this project.

The development of the CBRN QUGV is ongoing, with plans to enhance CHAPPIE’s agility, competitiveness and effectiveness in the Great Power Competition. Future upgrades aim to further improve its mobility, enabling it to navigate more complex environments. Additionally, advancements in sensor technology and artificial intelligence will allow CHAPPIE to detect and respond to threats with unprecedented accuracy and speed. These enhancements and tests of effectiveness will allow CHAPPIE to remain at the forefront of CBRN defense, providing unparalleled support to missions and reinforcing the United States’ commitment to maintaining an even stronger technological edge in global defense operations.

“It is a refreshing change to how we have traditionally tested and fielded new equipment,” said Master Sgt. Jacob Schrader, Installation Office of Emergency Management superintendent. “We have opened a new world of opportunity by enabling the end users to be creative and use their existing skills to create equipment designed around their needs. Ultimately, this will help us meet the pacing challenges faster and allow the use of existing technologies to increase our capabilities.”

As Buckley Space Force Base continues to innovate and push the boundaries of what is possible, CHAPPIE symbolizes the future of military technology and the ongoing pursuit of excellence within the Air and Space Forces.

By TSgt Jordan Thompson, Space Base Delta 2

Avon Protection Awarded US DoD ASPIRE Hood Mask Interface Contracts

Tuesday, November 12th, 2024

Avon Protection will apply its extensive experience as a provider of CBRN protective systems to optimize integration of personal protective equipment
Cadillac, MI, (November 11th, 2024): Avon Protection, renowned leader in innovative personal protective equipment, has been awarded three contracts by the US Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) ASPIRE HMI (Advanced System for Protection and Integrated Reduction of Encumbrances Hood/Mask Interface) program, which is executed by the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND).

The three contracts will cover the design and development of a solution to optimize integration between currently fielded M50 and M53A1 CBRN protective masks and CBRN protective garment hoods on a CBRN suit.

“The risk a customer faces when procuring protective equipment as individual systems from different suppliers is that there are potential integration issues at the points at which these different systems meet, no matter how advanced each individual system is,” Steve Elwell, President, Avon Protection, said. “Our approach is to mitigate this risk by designing our equipment to integrate seamlessly together, and it is this understanding of the importance of interface optimization between systems that we will bring to our work on this contract.”

The DoD is a strategic partner for Avon Protection, with millions of Avon Protection M50/M51 and M53/M53A1 air purifying respirators (APRs) in use across all branches of the US military.

Soldiers Test Drive Autonomous Equipment Decontamination System at MSPIX 24

Friday, August 16th, 2024

Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD — The best way to find out if a new car is right for you is to take it for a spin. When it comes to a new way to decontaminate military vehicles using mobile robotic technology, the same holds true. Take a seat at the computer, operate the system’s remote controls and see what feels right and what doesn’t.

That is exactly what four Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 1st Armored Division did at this year’s Maneuver Support and Protection Integration eXperiments event, or MSPIX, held at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, May 6 to 23. The robotic system they were operating was the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center’s (DEVCOM CBC) Autonomous Equipment Decontamination System.

The Soldiers were excited. “This system takes us away from the threat completely, and its buttons and controls are easy to use,” said Spc. Yaleidi Escalera. “We are the ones who will be using it in the fight, so it feels good to be able to tell the technology developers exactly what we need now.”

Escalera and three other CBRN Soldiers spent four days operating the system, followed by face-to-face feedback with the technology development team on what they liked about it and what parts of it can be improved.

“We usually never get a chance to meet the people designing the instruments we’re using as Soldiers,” said Sgt. First Class Joseph Bennett, also of First Armored. “So getting to experience the brain behind the equipment was exciting. They’re coming to us and asking, ‘Is this what you really want,’ and we get to tell them what we think.”

The Autonomous Equipment Decontamination System consists of a camera mounted on an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). The camera scans the entire vehicle surface as it circles around it, transmitting the contamination data back to the system operators seated at a computer safely in the rear. A robotic manipulator arm then uses that data to spray a decontamination slurry developed by DEVCOM CBC on only those chemical agent hotspots, conserving decontaminant and saving time.

The Autonomous Equipment Decontamination System team received valuable feedback that they will use to refine the technology. The Soldiers pointed out the challenges encountered by the robotic platform while navigating around and manipulating the odd shapes and hard to reach surfaces of some military vehicles. The Soldiers also noticed simple things, such as adding right click functionality to the mouse on the computer interface to add more user capability. Finally, the Soldiers wanted to have a manual override for the applicator arm in case they find that not all the hot spots are being reached in autonomous mode.

Autonomous Equipment Decontamination is a multi-year cooperative project led by DEVCOM CBC. In addition to DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory support in designing the system’s robotic arm, DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center supports the computer interface and UGV operations. Industry partner Teledyne FLIR supports the development of software for the system’s camera.

Currently, it takes a team of 20 to 30 Soldiers in full protective gear 45 to 60 minutes to decontaminate each vehicle exposed to chemical or biological hazards. Soldiers must perform this task close to the point of exposure and may be vulnerable to enemy fire. The process takes more than 500 gallons of water and 50 gallons of decontaminant per vehicle.

Warfighter feedback is the acid test for a technology initiative according to Maj. Paul Austin, a CBRN experimental officer with the Maneuver Support Battle Lab who coordinates and runs MSPIX. “I know from my experience as a CBRN officer during my time in the Special Operations Command the value of fast, efficient decontamination in the field,” said Austin. “Chemical and biological agents are a weapon that can severely disrupt an operation, so being able to quickly address it is essential to completing the mission.”

Story by Brian Feeney, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center

DISCO32 – Gas Mask Adapter Cable

Friday, July 19th, 2024

The GAS MASK ADAPTER (DGMA) represents a breakthrough in tactical communication, designed to facilitate seamless integration between protective masks with Electronic Communications Ports (ECPs) and the operator’s individual headset and push-to-talk system.

This adapter focuses on bypassing the headset’s microphone to utilize the internal microphone of the mask or other ECP-equipped devices, ensuring clear communication without interference.

The DGMA is compatible with a wide range of protective masks, including the C50, M50, FM53, FM54, or any other masks utilizing a 2 pin ECP port for the U-173/U type connection. Additionally, it supports MFF (Military Free Fall) communications-enabled oxygen masks like the MBU-12/P, offering extensive adaptability across different operational scenarios.

disco32.com/products/gas-mask-adapter-dgma

Developers, Warfighters Come Together at DTRA Demonstration

Sunday, June 16th, 2024

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Every year since 2018, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center — DEVCOM CBC — has helped the Defense Threat Reduction Agency plan and execute an in-the-field user assessment of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear technology called Chemical and Biological Operational Analysis. This year, CBOA was held at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina from April 13 to 18, and DEVCOM CBC was in the thick of it.

CBOA is funded under the Chem-Bio Defense Program and executed by the Joint Science and Technology Office of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, or DTRA. It brings technology developers from government agencies, industry and academia together with warfighters in order to put new technologies into warfighters’ hands. Warfighter feedback provides vital input to technology developers, enabling them to make improvements and correct shortfalls.

At Camp LeJeune, warfighters put these protypes through their paces in realistic field scenarios in which warfighters used them to interrogate mock unknown CBRN weapons caches. After running through each scenario, the warfighters gave the technology developers very specific feedback on what worked, what did not and how they could be improved.

That feedback is often simple but important, such as, “The labeling of the buttons on the chemical agent detection device is confusing.” It can also lead to new innovations, such as, “Can I mount the device on my helmet so that my hands are free?” Feedback can also include how warfighters are taught to use the new equipment, such as “Most of the people in my unit are visual learners, can you make a video version of the user’s manual?”

Clare Hamilton, a DEVCOM CBC program analyst, has supported CBOA since its inception. This year, she managed the Concept Tent during the CBOA event where technologies under development but not mature enough to use in the scenarios were displayed. Starting last October, she helped evaluate all the candidate technologies submitted by the technology developers and coordinated their participation in the Concept Tent. Of the 19 technologies displayed on tabletops in the tent this year, five were developed by DEVCOM CBC.

Some of the tasks DEVCOM CBC personnel took on were highly technical. David Glynn, a DEVCOM CBC liaison officer to the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, assisted as a “lane walker” at one of the scenario locations. It is a role that requires a keen knowledge of both CBRN technology and the way the scenario was designed.

“It was my responsibility to ensure that the warfighters participating in the scenario were trained in the proper use of the assigned new technology. I also ensure all users were at the right location at the right time in order to start the missions,” said Glynn. “While conducting missions, I made sure that every technology was used in the manner it was designed to be used. I also ensured the right simulants were in place in order to properly trigger a response form the technology.”

DTRA organizers have used lessons learned over time to steadily improve CBOA’s value to both technology developers and warfighters. This year’s event included two full days of warfighter training on the prototype technologies before the actual scenario run-throughs.

There were six scenarios in all, spanning chemical, biological, and pharmaceutical-based agents, as well as radiological threats. The scenario participants, 110 in all, included U.S. Special Forces, Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, Coast Guard, and Custom and Border Patrol members. At the end of each scenario, warfighters shared their evaluations of the new CBRN technologies in both face-to-face discussions and by filling out detailed questionnaires. As the DTRA project manager for the event, Markham Smith, put it, “We want technology developers to make their improvements while the clay is still wet.”

DEVCOM CBC Director Michael Bailey attended the event and was pleased with what he saw. “At CBOA we get to see early science and technology that will pay off in time. Many technologies we and others have brought over the years have been licensed to industry for production and are now fielded,” he said. “CBOA is able to do this because of the wide range of organizations it brings together, agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, defense research laboratories, the services and many different technology developers from industry. That makes CBOA a big contributor to the nation’s CBRN defense. I appreciate that DTRA uses our help for this extraordinary event every year.”

By Brian Feeney

Bioweapons Field Guide for Recovered Munitions to Fill Knowledge Gap

Monday, June 3rd, 2024

Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD — The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC) Chemical Biological Applications and Risk Reduction business unit, known as CBARR, provides field response for recovered chemical munitions all over the country and around the world. Sometimes bioweapons munitions turn up, too. Robert Malone, the CBARR Plans and Assessments Branch chief, has a plan for that, he is writing a field reference guide for recovered bioweapons.

“We’ve had a field reference guide for chemical weapons since the mid-1990s,” Malone said. “It’s called the U.S. Chemical Weapons and Related Material Reference Guide. But there’s not one for biological weapons and related material, and that has always surprised me, so I decided to do something about it.”

What brought this need home for Malone is what happened at a field operations site at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. Recovery team members encountered E-61 bomblets. “The CBARR project manager for this field operation, George Noya, came to me because he knew that I had done some extensive research on bioweapons some years back,” Malone said. “That provided me with some good background, but I also got help from a true CBC expert in this area, Chris Whalley, a Center subject matter expert in biological weapons.”

Malone and Noya went to Whalley’s office. Whalley was able to tell them what the item was, its delivery system, its potential agent fills, and he even had an unfilled example of one sitting in his office that they could hold and examine.

“That was enormously helpful to us, but then two things occurred to me,” Malone recalled. “First, why don’t we have this kind of detailed knowledge for the broad range of bioweapons in a form that can be shared? Second, Chris will retire soon, so how can we preserve that knowledge?”

DEVCOM CBC’s mission is to provide innovative chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) defense capabilities to enable the joint warfighters’ dominance on the battlefield and interagency defense of the homeland. It has programs with sources of seed money available to fund good ideas. Through the ‘Quick Empowerment leads to Successful Tomorrows’ program, or QUEST for short, projects of any size from $5,000 to $100,000 tied to the Center’s mission are considered. Applicants get ten minutes to pitch their ideas before the Center’s Innovation Council members, followed by five minutes for questions.

In 2023, Malone submitted his idea, made his pitch and was selected to receive a $22,000 grant to begin work on a concise, easy-to-use field manual. He pulled together a team of CBC colleagues which included Whalley plus Mindy Soethe and Andrew Bailey. Although they were frequently away performing field responses at CBARR’s many project sites, they were able to reach the 40 percent mark over the course of a year.

The manual, thus far, includes biological weapon types, the history of their development and use plus information on their likely prevalence. Compiling this data is a slow, meticulous process, but the team members believe that the usefulness of that data warrants the effort.

Malone and his team submitted a request for funding to finish the field guide and at QUEST 24 Pitch Day in April they gave their pitch to the Innovation Council. They were persuasive, the Innovation Council members gave them a QUEST grant of $25,000, enough to finish the job. As soon as they complete it, they will make it available to CBARR field teams as well as the rest of the Center.

By Brian Feeney

Accelerator for Innovative Minds (AIM) Genomic Non-Specific Operational Matchmaking Enabled Systems (GNOMES)

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024

SOFWERX, in collaboration with the USSOCOM, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC), the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), and the Accelerator for Innovative Minds (AIM) Genomic Non-Specific Operational Matchmaking Enabled Systems (GNOMES) Team, will host an Assessment Event (AE) 09-10 July 2024 to provide awareness of biological agents/compounds in a far forward, resource-limited environment.

AIM is a collaborative initiative led by DoD in the CWMD and CBRNE space. The goal of AIM is to demonstrate an enduring Hybrid Accelerator model in coordination with Industry, non-traditional partners, and SMEs to develop technology, build networks/relationships, and develop processes targeting specific Warfighter problem spaces as identified by AIM government collaborators. AIM requests information from Industry, Academia, Laboratories, and non-traditional partners on approaches, products, and/or services to support CWMD technology requirements. Once these are reviewed, the collaborative DoD group intends to align transition pathways across the full technology maturation spectrum.

The Chemical and Biological Defense Program’s vision through AIM is to identify capabilities which provide insight of chemical and biological (CB) contested environments. The objective is to develop a system with maximum utility for the warfighter to overcome current limiting factors in providing awareness of biological agents/compounds in a far forward, resource-limited environment.

Submit NLT 09 June 2024 11:59 PM ET.

Details here.