Description
Objective: Accelerate Far Forward Manufacturing (FFM) of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) sensors. CBRN sensor products should be minimal size, weight, and power economic, while detecting and transmitting threat awareness in near real-time to the warfighter. The ability to create these devices on-demand and with limited logistical footprints will enable global operations and critical real-time data ingestion. Description: The Department of Defense is looking for FFM of robust CBRN sensors that require limited logistical footprints. This topic seeks capabilities that shift reliance away from protracted and/or brittle supply chain dependencies and towards faster, more efficient, and point-of-need (e.g., Far Forward) manufacturing of CBRN sensing capabilities. Advanced manufacturing approaches have made significant gains in consolidating assemblies, resource conservation (weight and material savings), increased customization, and accelerated design-test and-iteration processes1, exponentially shrinking the time from prototype to field assessment and realization of capabilities2. Embracing this, the Army is currently exploring significant acceleration in the production of 3D-printed drones to boost training efforts for modern warfare3. Similarly, the rapidly changing nature of modern warfare necessitates capabilities to help warfighters avoid contamination and provide increased decision space to assess mitigation strategies. CBRN sensing products manufactured and scaled on-site, at low cost, to detect and provide near real-time awareness of CBRN threat exposure is critical to ensuring force readiness and adaptability. The Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP) aims to explore FFM approaches that will enable speed and scale of CBRN sensing technologies that have minimal size, weight, power economy, logistical burden, and sustainment costs. Innovative approaches may include, but are not limited to: fused filament fabrication, fused deposition modeling, selective laser melting, direct metal laser sintering, and biomanufacturing. Keywords: expeditionary manufacturing, far forward manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, biomanufacturing, biosensors, environmental sensing