Defense officials evaluate chemical detectors for battlefield use
DoD officials recently announced Increment 2 of the Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) Program, which will evaluate devices that detect, identify and quantify both chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals.
The second stage of the program builds upon Increment 1 requirements, while emphasizing detector sensitivity, false alarm rejection, and networking capabilities.
Multiple detectors will be evaluated by the DoD over the next year. Initially, 10 detectors—five of each required configuration—will be procured by DoD officials. If successful through multiple evaluation phases, the long-term potential involves the production of up to 120,000 units for the detector selected.
One manufacturer participating in the program is Smiths Detection, based in Edgewood, Md. The company’s military division was selected to participate in Increment 2 of the program, after being awarded an initial $3.9 million, fixed-price contract to supply its non-radioactive chemical point detector during the program’s initial evaluation stage.
“Smiths Detection has produced chemical detectors for military forces around the world for over 40 years, and securing the Increment 1 contract of the JCAD program was a significant win,” said Stephen Phipson, Group Managing Director of Smiths Detection. “For both the Department of Defense and Smiths Detection, it marked the start of one of the most important chemical agent detection programs ever undertaken.”