Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for Detection of Agents of Mass Destruction (SUDAMaD)

Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Warfare (NBCW) agents pose an increasingly creible threat to military and civilian personnel as adversaries seek non-conventional means to disrupt U.S operations and terroize the Homeland. Third-world countries and extremist groups that find political value in their use have shown they can acquire these agents without great difficulty. Current CBW detection programs have advanced the state of chemical and biological detection, yet issues remain. Fielded technologies and those under deverlopment addresss NBCW attacks in conventional battle space. For stand-off detection in particular, they are large, complicated and expensive units with limitations in range, sensitivity and specificity, and subject to environmental interference and obstruction (hills, mountains, buildings, etc.) Pervasive detectionover a broad area, at reasonable cost and with high confidence embodies an unmet need. Advancements in UAV/MAV systems and sensor technology make feasible an inexpensive, flying NBCW sensor array. Such a system could be deployed by forward units, or dispatched by other air vehicles in order to scout and report back NBCW data of interest such as detection of threatening agents, extent of spread and source of attack. The autonomous aerial detection arrays that will result from this project will mitigate issues in current stand-off detection.