Tag, Track, and Locate (TTL) technologies and concepts for combating weapons of mass destruction (CWMD).

OBJECTIVE: Expand the state-of-the-art to develop new technologies that predict our enemy"s intentions before they act by focusing on"24x7"TTL of terrorists and WMD-related activities in what is now a global theater of war. Enhance technical capabilities to globally tag, track and locate personnel and materials associated with the development, manufacture, or proliferation of WMD. DESCRIPTION: DTRA is seeking TTL technologies that can be used to locate and track either personnel or material associated with WMD-related activities. Personnel applications seek to tag, track, and locate known and suspected WMD terrorists, research scientists, or potential proliferators. TTL technologies will support confirmation of suspected involvement in WMD-related activities; location of WMD research, manufacture, storage, or proliferation sites; and identification of proliferation activities. Material applications seek to tag, track, and locate nuclear materials, biological or chemical agents and their precursors, and WMD employment devices and their spare parts or key supplies. Relevant TTL technologies will support tracking of WMD material, verify locations of friendly or neutral WMD material, confirm locations of suspected WMD supplies, and identify potential WMD proliferation. Ideal TTL tags would possess operating lifetimes measured in months to years. Tag detection and location could come from short-range (1-10 meters) when object movement is constrained to a limited number of well-defined routes (such as roads or building exits) or from long-range (space-based) when object motion is unconstrained. TTL technologies of interest that could be applied to either personnel or material include but are not limited to: 1) Miniature low-power (long lifetime) radio frequency (RF) tags that could be covertly attached to WMD-related personnel or equipment. 2) Novel technologies that enable passive location of RF tags inside structures. 3) Novel materials that change observable characteristics, such as becoming fluorescent, when exposed to radiation associated with WMD-related special nuclear material. 4) Novel materials that could be applied to human hair, skin or other materials, via special lotions, soaps, or shampoos, to provide a persistent signature, and their corresponding detectors. 5) Novel chemical sprays with highly specific signatures that could be applied to WMD-related material, and their corresponding chemical detection systems. 6) Novel nano-materials that could be applied to personnel, equipment, or material that would exhibit laser-induced fluorescence when illuminated by a specific frequency optical or infrared laser. 7) Miniature tags that respond when illuminated by a laser that has been modulated with a specific laser pulse code. 8) Miniature low-power chemical or biological agent detectors that can be integrated with miniature RF digital data transmitters. PHASE I: Provide documentation that identifies one or more new technologies for TTL in combating WMD, specifying the pros / cons of those technologies, as well as feasibility and cost performance / benefits analyses. Such documentation should include prototype designs that demonstrate meaningful improvements in the state-of-the-art. PHASE II: Develop complete engineering designs, taking into account miniaturization expectations, and demonstrate prototype TTL technologies in support of planned military exercises like Empire Challenge, Thunderstorm, etc. PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Produce low-rate production quantities for military and commercial markets. Novel technologies may find commercial application within the law enforcement community, as well as in the tracking of wildlife migratory patterns, monitoring of livestock, or assisting owners to located lost pets. Other applications include warehouse inventory management or vehicle fleet monitoring. REFERENCES: 1. 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review Report; Reorienting Capabilities and Forces Chapter; Combating WMD Section; 2006; pp 51 53. 2. 2007 Department of Defense Research & Engineering Strategic Plan; 2008. 3. 2008 Defense Intelligence Strategy; Policy, Strategy, and Doctrine Directorate; Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence; 2008.