Chemical and Biological Defense Test and Evaluation (T&E) Future Challenges
Abstract
The objective of this study was to identify emerging technical, methodological, and infrastructure challenges for future Chemical and Biological Defense (CBD) Test and Evaluation (T&E) investment, and to serve as a prequel to the development of a full strategic T&E Roadmap. The Center for Technology and National Security Policy (CTNSP) of the National Defense University (NDU) led the study. The CTNSP study group conducted a five-point analysis of the CBD program. The group reviewed requirements documents, the relevant science and technology (S&T) literature, existing CBD strategic plans, the current S&T investment portfolio, and current commodity programs. The Joint S&T Office (JSTO) Focused Innovative Thrusts and legacy S&T portfolio, the JSTO Strategic Science Roadmap, the Joint Requirements Office (JRO) requirements, and the Joint Program Executive Office (JPEO) programs represented the reviewed materials. Science and technology has been moving at an exponential pace, especially within disciplines critical to the CBD program. These primarily include the biological sciences, especially systems and synthetic biology and structural biology; information science, particularly bioinformatics; nanotechnology, specifically the ability to tailor nanomaterials from the ground up, and to design and fabricate devices on the nanoscale; and combinatorial chemistry. These rapid developments underpin both next generation threats and new countermeasure technologies that must be subjected to rigorous T&E before fielding. The T&E community has been confronted with numerous challenges when new technology is developed. The classic example is polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which permits the high fidelity amplification of DNA.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA585132
Entities
People
- Ewelina Tunia
- James J. Valdes
Organizations
- National Defense University