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Draper has been awarded a US$26 million contract from the US Department of Defense to deliver enhanced chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) reconnaissance solutions.
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Under the agreement, the company has been contracted to expand the capabilities of its unmanned autonomous systems to support reconnaissance missions in CBRN environments.
The contract was granted through the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense.
It is expected that the company will utilise enhanced flight software and sensor-driven algorithms to allow uncrewed systems to operate in teams and to conduct CBRN missions in denied environments, including areas without GPS.
The company hopes this will keep the operator safe and will be designed to operate with the command-and-control interface of the US Army’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle Stryker platform.
Initial prototypes have been presented by the company, where they have been demonstrated to operate in teams and detect CBRN threats.
“Draper’s UAS CBRN system is capable of searching even small, cluttered places and detecting CBRN hazards,” said Won Kim, program manager at Draper.
“Our novel sensor-driven algorithms will allow the UAVs and robots to perform reconnaissance missions as a team and make real-time decisions about where to go next, increasing their efficiency and effectiveness.”
The company is expected to deliver two unmanned aerial vehicles and one unmanned ground vehicle option as part of the contract. The contract period will continue for 36 months, if options are exercised.
