Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Brian Kimball | USAF Airmen assigned to the 501 Combat Support Wing and 423 Air Base Group review...... read more read more
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Submitted as courtesy article
DTRA Public Affairs
FORT BELVOIR, Va. – It is vital that American warfighters possess the capabilities to anticipate, assess, and understand potential but real symmetric and asymmetric Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) threats during forward-deployed operations.
“An integrated, layered defense, especially in forward-deployed, austere locations, requires a technology platform that is light, lean, and adaptable to different loadouts and objectives,” said Chris High, Science and Technology Manager at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s (DTRA).
“So, when it comes to a system of systems that detects CBRN threats, having it faster, lighter, more maneuverable, and capable of holding effective tools to analyze and to combat those threats gives the warfighter a significant edge,” said High.
To demonstrate a system of systems to protect warfighters, DTRA CB, in its role as the Joint Science and Technology Office, recently conducted the U.S. Air Force (USAF) CBRN Reconnaissance and Surveillance Field Demonstration at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
This Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) is part of the Integrated Early Warning campaign that is aligned with a larger chemical/biological defense program to develop advanced threat detection, understanding, and communication of CBRN defense capabilities, High explained.
Like previous demonstrations for Army and Marine Corps applications, such as Perceptive Dragon, this ATD showcased USAF Emergency Management personnel using remote chemical and radiological sensors along with handheld and wearable sensors, all integrated into a common architecture on a Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV), that enables real-time data communications displayed on tablets that provided a common operating picture. Much of the backbone of these capabilities can be used for all types of CBRN threats.
Airmen used CBRN sensors mounted on a small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, a UTV, along with handheld CBRN sensors and wearable Physiological Status Monitors plus a Heads Up Display while executing realistic and operationally relevant scenarios. The integrated sensors provided real-time data sharing and data display that significantly improved timeliness and accuracy in gathering detection and identification data after a CBRN attack compared to current procedures.
“Ultimately, the ATD showed a positive impact in enabling timely, well-informed decision making to maintain mission effectiveness in a contaminated environment and reduce casualties,” said US Army Colonel Michael Quinn, a senior leader for DTRA.
The ATD showed great promise in providing a versatile and transportable CBRN capability that significantly improves the ability to conduct CBRN reconnaissance and surveillance.
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The Defense Threat Reduction Agency enables the Department of Defense, the United States Government and International partners to counter and deter weapons of mass destruction and improvised threat networks.
| Date Taken: | 02.18.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.18.2021 15:53 |
| Story ID: | 389315 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 407 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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