US Army rolls out CIDAS

Active-duty units and reservists in the US have begun to receive the Contamination Indicator/Decontamination Assurance System (CIDAS), the US Army announced on 8 September.

‘The Army is fielding it to all units in areas where there is a threat of chemical agents,’ it added.

CIDAS, which was developed under the US Army Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTT) programme, has proven capable of detecting chemical weapons accurately at low concentration levels.

The technology has been purchased by FLIR Systems https://www.shephardmedia.com/... under SBTT and CIDAS is now a programme of record within the Joint Program Executive Office for CBRN Defense (JPEO-CBRND).

Dr Stephen Lee, senior scientist at the Army Research Office, said: ‘This technology is highly sensitive, providing accurate results on only trace amounts of material, even at concentrations below levels that represent an immediate danger to life and health.’

The US Army funded the basic research behind CIDAS technology at the University of Pittsburgh. A team led by Dr Alan Russell worked to identify ways to incorporate enzymes into polymers that would be stabilised for use outside the cell and then ultimately used in realistic battlefield environments.

FLIR is also under contract from JPEO-CBRND to support the Contamination Indicator/Decontamination Assurance System programme.

A five-year contract, worth up to $21.8 million, includes a full-rate production phase to field the product to units throughout the US Army.

Shipments are expected to begin in Q4 2020.

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