New Chem-Bio Protective Wear in Design Phase.

• Author: Machi, Vivienne
• Position: Global Defense

* After several years of debate and analysis, officials are moving forward to develop a new protective suit for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protection.

The joint program executive office for chemical and biological defense has entered the design phase for the uniform integrated protection ensemble increment 2, or UIPEI2, which is intended to replace the current joint service lightweight integrated suit technology, said Scott Paris, the joint project manager for protection.

The office is evaluating multiple concepts for a future suit, he said in an email. Through the UIPEI2 program, officials will "develop, procure and field a family of systems that provides full-body percutaneous protection from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear warfare agents, while providing enhanced mobility and less physiological burden to the war-fighter compared to legacy systems," he added.

For over a year, the JPEO has been working to complete an analysis of alternatives that would inform the new suit's direction. Following a series of meetings with military personnel from a multitude of mission areas, the final report is due in December, Paris said.

"Meeting with warfighters provided an opportunity to hear directly from end users [about] what attributes and features of the next-generation CBRN ensemble are most important to them," he added.

Based on feedback, the office separated users into four mission areas--land, air, sea and homeland defense, he said. Work is ongoing to define the specific requirements for each group, he noted.

Ronald Hann, research-and-development director at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's chemical and biological technologies department, said that protective products are among the office's top science and...