CBRN Defence

There is an ever increasing threat of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) warfare by state adversaries as well as non-state actors. To counter this threatLife Sciences laboratories are endeavoring towards the development of NBC equipment for the last two decades. A large number of items have been developed and inducted into Services. Several other DRDO Labs belonging to other technology clusters have been participating in the NBC defence R&D under the leadership of LS cluster.

The products in the area of detection, protection and decontamination systems have been developed by life sciences laboratories and delivered to the Armed Forces. At the present day, the entire NBC inventory of the Army except one item (Chemical Agent Detector) comprise of DRDO developed products.

NBC Suit Mk V

NBC Suit Mk V developed based on US military standard MIL DTL 32102.It provides cover to protect individual soldiers from chemical vapour and droplet, biological agents and radiological dust. After successful trials the product has been inducted to Army. Army has placed supply order for 50000 suits.

Integrated Hood Mask is for use by the personnel having Patka or cut/ injury on their cheeks. It consists of Respiratory Mask, Canister and the hood. The Hood is made up of three-layered fabric. The head, parts of face and neck, which are not covered by the mask is detachable and is for one time use only.

Resuscitator is for the resuscitation of the personnel having inhaled the CW agents. The standard set comprises of rubber bladder, non-rebreathing valve system, facemask having transparent face piece and inflatable rubber lining and canister which purifies the air and allows pure air into the bladder. The canister contains activated carbon, which absorbs the toxic gases.

Leak Tester forms an Integral part of NBC warfare test equipment. It is used to test the integrity of the respiratory mask before issue to soldiers. The tester is provided with digital display and a logic circuit, which indicates within 40 seconds whether a mask has passed/failed.

Respiratory Mask Mk I and II protect the wearer’s lungs by providing the air free from the suspected

CW agents. It provides wide field of vision and has swivel drinking water facility that provides the means for taking liquid refreshments while wearing the respirator. It is available in small, medium and large size and is compatible with other NBC protection equipment used in field operations.

Automatic Chemical Agent Detector & Alarm (ACADA) and Chemical agent Monitor (CAM) have been developed indigenously as per JSQR specifications for point detection. They are used for On-site detection for countermeasures against chemical warfare (CW) agents. Third Party Evaluation of CAM & ACADA carried-out in Year 2018 at TNO, which is an OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) designated laboratory located at The Netherlands.

Detection Kits In order to check the potability of the water streams, ponds, sources, etc, a Water Poison Detection Kit has been developed which can detect water poisons and chemical Warfare agents in water based on specific chemical reactions with impregnated substrates and reagent papers that impart specific colour change. Similarly, Residual Vapour Detection (RVD) Kit can detect vapours and gases of chemicalwarfare agents based on specific chemical reactions with impregnated silica gel that imparts specific colour change.