QinetiQ developing new CB aircrew mask

QinetiQ has won the second phase of a four year, £3 million contract from Scott Aviation to design and develop a mask to protect military aircrew from chemical and biological attack, as part of a contract awarded by the US Department of Defense (DoD). The US Government has already taken delivery of two prototype variants, one for fast jets and the other for helicopters and transport aircraft, which were evaluated by a consortium which included QinetiQ, as part of Phase One competition.

The development of the Joint Service Aircrew Mask (JSAM) represents a novel approach to military aircrew protection. JSAM provides an original system of head, eye and respiratory protection against chemical and biological threats that enables users to put the mask on quickly when faced with an actual hazard, rather than just the threat of a hazard.

The contract win, for Phase Two of the project, is the result of a successful international consortium between QinetiQ, (one of Europe's largest technology solutions providers), Scott Aviation (ading provider of commercial aviation oxygen systems) and SAIC (the largest US employee-owned research and engineering company). JSAM combines QinetiQ's quick don respirator and Scott Aviation's high performance oxygen mask technologies. The system is designed for integration with existing life support systems.

"Our winning the second phase of this contract is the result of a successful working relationship with the DoD and demonstrates that QinetiQ is world-leading in the research and development of human sciences", said Mary Walker, Director, Centre for Human Sciences at QinetiQ."Using state of the art facilities, we offer a comprehensive service from the largest team of integrated human factors specialists in Europe."

The technology has potential commercial applications, including protection for firefighting and other hazardous environments.

The QinetiQ consortium's success in winning this contract is the result of its earlier successful conclusion of Phase One, during which the prototypes were developed.It is expected that once Phase Two is completed the US DoD will require nearly 80,000 masks.These will be manufactured by Scott Aviation with QinetiQ receiving royalties for each mask sold.

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