lswcap
U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA contracts with FLIR Systems, Leidos and Charles River Analytics to protect soldiers and responders from chemical threats to new individuals. Started a clothing development program.
Personalized protective equipment called PPB (Personalized Protective Biosystem) aims to be lighter, more comfortable and able to cope with various risks than conventional nuclear, biological and chemical protective clothing. Typically, such protective clothing is made of an impermeable rubber-like material with vents to prevent condensation or a breathable material including activated carbon. These protective suits are designed to be worn over a soldier’s uniform, wear protective gear such as gas masks, and fight and work for days.
However, such protective clothing is not comfortable to wear and cannot cope with the new heavy chemical biological weapons. Therefore, DARPA is demanding the development of lightweight materials and molecular technology capable of responding to a wide range of threats for a long time, and the development of new protective clothing using the same.
PPB program manager Eric Van Gieson said that the PPB development program aims to address PPE limitations such as thermal, logistics burden, and potential exposure risk, which are vulnerabilities peculiar to threats. The new suits, regardless of threats, will shorten the time to complete the mission, increase operational flexibility, extend the learning period of the mission, and be a valuable force to execute operations even in difficult environments.
In addition, successful development of PPE technology can facilitate activities in unpredictable environments not only for military use but also for public health. It may be able to provide a means of preventing and treating new infections as well as known infections. Related information can be found here.
Add comment