Genetic Chemistry, Inc. in Palo Alto, CA received a $6 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for “research to develop countermeasures to an intercellular bio threat agent.”

Work will be performed in Palo Alto, CA and is expected to be complete by July 28/11. Multiple bids were solicited in October 2006, and 1 bid was received by the Research, Development & Engineering Command Acquisition Center in Research Triangle Park, NC (W911NF-08-C-0023).

Demron Bodysuit
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Ever since World War 1, operations in chemical environments have been a standard scenario for many of the world’s armies. With the invention of nerve gas, the risks multiplied further. Its ability to kill on contract required complete exposure protection, and the dawn of the nuclear era added the ability to operate in irradiated areas as a key criterion for NBC protective equipment like the USA’s MOPP and JSLIST gear. Even so, protection against ionizing radiation is limited.

Meanwhile, more peaceful uses of atomic energy were also creating a need for civilian clothing. Aside from those annoying lead bibs we all wear at the dentist, health professionals who use radiation treatments or work around X-rays can end up in a heavy shrouded lead vest with matching gloves and goggles. One South Florida physician hated them. In response, he eventually developed a fabric he calls Demron, a lightweight polymer composite of woven and non-woven materials comprising polyurethane, polyvinylchloride and a mixture of high-atomic-number salt particles that either absorb or disperse radiation. It’s cool to the touch, lightweight, and provides much more freedom of movement.

Tests at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons have all been positive, and Dr. DeMeo’s firm Radiation Shield Technologies (RST) of Coral Gables, FL recently announced its first contract. NATO is funding a $250,000 contract for 250 Demron suits that will be deployed by the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus, where Chernobyl was located. That’s an incredibly small contract by DID’s standards, but the technology is interesting and shows promise for use in combination with suits like the JSLIST, or in first-responder body suits, tactical vests, suppression blankets, tents, and other military and home security applications.

New UK CBRN
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The UK Ministry of Defence recently placed a GBP 6.6 million (about $13.1 million) order for 44,000 chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) suits. The suits guard against biological or chemical attacks, and provide some degree of protection from nuclear fallout. They are worn with rubber over-boots and gloves, and are designed to seal around the CBRN service respirator and fit over combat clothing. Woodland and desert camouflage patterns are available.

The suits will be manufactured by Remploy, which was formed more than 60 years ago to provide work for people injured at home and abroad during the World War 2. The company has supplied specialist protection suits for several years from its workshops around Scotland and the United Kingdom.

Britain has made a number of improvements to its CBRN capabilities lately. While its forces no longer face a Soviet enemy across the Fulda Gap, whose operational doctrine caled for massive chemical weapon strikes in advance of an attack. Nevertheless, the falling technology curve continues to make it easier for rogue states and other elements to acquire and use weapons of mass destruction. Other recent improvements the UK moD has made in this area include truck-mounted Integrated Biological Detection Systems, man-portable chemical agent detectors, and tactical radiation monitoring equipment. MoD release.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency at Fort Belvoir, VA is awarding contracts to find new anti-viral compounds that are effective against hemorrhagic fever viruses, a class that includes Ebola et. al.

DID would caution readers that drug development is a long and expensive process ($100 million is often mentioned as the table stakes to get a drug through approvals), and that promising therapies don’t all make it through the research and testing stages. Even so, we think the research is interesting, and worth our time to share and explain. The latest award is contract to Alnylam for the RNA interference approach, which will be researched in the USA and Canada. DID explains that, and more, below…

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Achaogen in San Francisco, CA is working on “preclinical development of novel therapeutics that reduce the virulence of, and inhibit resistance in, Class A Bacterial Pathogens.” Achaogen closed a $26 million round of venture financing in October 2006; their approach focuses on small molecules that inhibit the emergence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. An October 2006 contract has now been followed by a June 2007 contract, and the terms appear to indicate progress.

So, just what are “Class A bacterial pathogens?” You certainly know some of them by name…

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General Electric Co. in Cincinnati, OH received a $12.5 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity with cost-plus-fixed fee contract. The USAF wants GE to demonstrate the resilience of an aircraft’s flight control, electric actuation, and power management and distribution subsystems against high power microwaves and nuclear electromagnetic pulses, with a focus on a near-term solution to make aircraft immune (or at least highly resistant) to electromagnetic environmental effects. At this time, $527,000 has been obligated.

Solicitations began June 2006, negotiations were complete November 2006, and work will be complete November 2011. The US Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH issued the contract (FA8650-07-D-2700 task order 0001).

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TAP Coveralls

Small business qualifier Harris Manufacturing Co., Inc. in Trenton, NJ received a maximum $7.3 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/quantity type contract for waterproof bags and clothing for Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. The firm as a whole is knwon for producing “toxological agents protective” (TAP) clothing. Given the different nature of this contract, however, it is almost certainly being filled by Harris subsidiary Utility Products. They specialize in custom industrial rainwear and rain gear, and are based in Trenton.

Other locations of performance include Smyrna, DE, where the rest of the firm is located. Proposals were Web solicited and 2 responded. Date of performance completion is Sept. 30, 2007. The contract was issued by the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA (SP0100-05-D-4175).

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M1135 Stryker NBCRV
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Hentzen Coatings in Milwaukee, WI received a delivery order amount of $9.2 million as part of a $14.1 million firm-fixed-price contract for chemical agent resistant coatings for vehicles. Work will be performed in Milwaukee, WI, and is expected to be complete by April 12, 2007. There were two bids solicited on Nov. 30, 2004, and three bids were received by the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command in Texarkana, TX (W911RQ-05-D-0013).

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JSF HMDS
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The Elbit/ Rockwell-Collins joint venture Vision Systems International, LLC (VSI) in San Jose, CA received a firm fixed price contract for $156 million from Lockheed Martin, as part of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase. This new contract expands the company’s effort to include provision of pilot flight gear, including the oxygen mask and chemical/ biological hazard protection. VSI was previously awarded a contract to design the advanced JSF Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and Lockheed Martin informed VSI that it has been selected to supply JSF HMDS to all domestic and international F-35 customers. See corporate release.

Principal suppliers include Elbit Systems Ltd. (display Management Computer, contains advanced graphic processing and head tracking); Rockwell Collins, (helmet Mounted Display, including advanced optical design); and Helmet Integrated Systems Ltd. of the UK (helmet shell and pilot personal fitting system).

HMDS, testing
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DID has covered its predecessor the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS) before, from its revolutionary effect on air combat when used with high off-boresight 4th generation SRAAMs like the AIM-9X Sidewinder, AA-11 Archer et. al., to the program’s rocky but ultimately successful history as a key companion to US F-15, F-16, and F/A-18 aircraft. JSF HMDS takes this one step further, providing day or night imagery that applies to both air and ground attacks; it also features advanced head tracking capability and near-zero latency, in order to provide a virtual heads-up display and imagery screen anywhere the pilot’s head moves. Since the F-35 will be the first tactical fighter jet in over 30 years to fly without a HUD, this capability is mandatory.

Ammo turbulence
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The ability to use open-source operating systems like Linux with “clusters” of computing hardware that include many commodity components has really changed the supercomputing landscape. Complex physics-based problems that are three dimensional and time-dependent are especially difficult, and benefit greatly from the additional computing power per dollar that’s rapidly becoming available. This has had a significant impact in sectors like movies and TV, energy, and pharmaceuticals – not to mention the defense industry.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) recently placed an order with Linux Networx for 5 supercomputers as part of the Technology Insertion 2006 (TI-06) initiative. They are part of a broader effort to modernize the US DoD’s computing capabilities, by providing the supercomputer services, high-speed network communications, and expertise for U.S. Defense laboratories. The recipients, and the type and capabilities of the systems they received, are detailed below:

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