Defense

The Turkish Ministry of Defence invited companies to participate in a tender for the development of a deployable, mobile laboratory prepared to perform an analytical identification of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear threats (CBRN), with an 18-month implementation period. The world's leading companies in the sector submitted their tenders.

Indra’s capacity to adapt its solution to the needs and specific requirements of the Turkish army has been a key factor in becoming the winning bidder.

The award highlights the strong international competitive status the company holds in CBRN solutions and systems. NUROL will be Indra's most important local subcontractor in this contract, and will develop part of the mechanical work.

The contract won in Turkey is in addition to the contract recently awarded to Indra by the European Defence Agency (EDA), also in the field of CBRN security.

In this case, the company will be responsible for the definition of the future European command and control system that will respond to CBRNE threats (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear and Explosives).

Indra has developed a system using a commercial van as a platform. It has a secure workspace for two operators, the head of operations and the driver. The vehicle is pressurised and, in the event of an accident that would affect its habitability, it has a mask system coupled to the filtration equipment allowing the operators to breathe clean air.

Indra is in charge of developing the technical and operational requirements, along with the architecture best suited for the command and control system. The system can graphically present the scene of operations and all the relevant CBRN information, as well as disseminating the collected information, in good time, to the various bodies that operate in an area (the police force, the fire brigade, health authorities, etc.) and, if necessary, their actions can be coordinated by the system. Operators have a measuring and Gamma-ray spectroscopy system available, which can take samples of suspended particles to detect nuclear and radiological materials. An ad hoc design has been used to connect the system to the vehicle.

Chemical analysis: the vehicle is equipped with a detection and identification system for chemical compounds in the vehicle’s proximity and another one for remote detection of contaminated clouds, at a distance of 5 kilometres. It is also prepared with chemical identification equipment for mass spectrometry.

Biological testing: the platform has a detection and sampling system.

Explosives detection: it incorporates a portable spectrometry system, LIBS, technology that uses a high-energy laser to detect explosive residues with traces of just a few nanogrammes.

The vehicle has an application for real-time monitoring and georeferencing of contaminating agents.

Therefore, the information collected is merged with the data provided by its built-in meteorological unit.

This system enables users to make a preliminary estimation of the direction and at what speed the contamination will spread.

All data gathered by the various devices is centralised in the laboratory information management system (LIMS) installed on the vehicle and is sent to the control centre via the most suitable link (Satcom, Tetra, etc.).

Operators have a self-contained breathing system and protective suits (level A), so they can carry out actions outside of the vehicle, allowing safe sample collection.

All these features make this vehicle one of the most advanced systems to be found on the market.

• The system features the corresponding decontamination shower so the personnel can avoid the transfer of possible contaminants between the exterior and the interior of the vehicle.
• A comprehensive detection and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agent analysis system.
• A safe work space, in which a scientific team can travel to the contaminated area.
• Integration of various solutions, with each other and with C2 systems (Command and Control).
• The mobile laboratory is integrated into a module that allows it to be transferred easily, using a helicopter, aircraft carrier or transportation lorry to the operation zone.
• Comprehensive logistics support of the laboratory, including the preparation and definition of work protocols.
• The solution allows operators to work in a clean space, without any risk to their health. Therefore, they can study collected samples and once they have obtained the results, transmit them to the appropriate authorities.