DETECTION OF LAND MINES AND UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE BY EXPLOITATION OF THE CHEMICAL SIGNATURE POC: Ryan Gallagher, SPC, FAX (703) 351-8662. SN96-11: Detection of land mines and unexploded ordnance by exploitation of the chemical signature, June 3, 1996. Location: Renaissance Arlington Hotel, Arlington, VA, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, DARPA/DSO. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to expand its program to develop technologies for the chemically specific detection of land mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). The goal for this program is detection, under field conditions, by exploitation of the chemical signature of the explosive or ordnance item with sufficient sensitivity to permit high detection rates and localization of the threat (i.e., concentration gradient mapping), and sufficient selectivity to prevent high false alarm rates. Preference will be given to systems that are real-time, lightweight, low power, and low cost. If successful, this program would develop and demonstrate technologies with substantially increased performance over present systems in approximately 3-5 years. Most current approaches to the detection of mines/UXO use sensors that attempt to exploit physical properties associated with the threat. As examples, infrared and electro-optical techniques sense differences between the optical properties of ordnance items and the surrounding area of differences in the optical properties of the disturbed soil associated with mine emplacement, ground penetrating radar techniques seek to exploit differences in the electric properties, induction coils are used to locate small quantities of metal associated with mines. There has been substantially less focus on technologies centered on the detection of the explosive, however. Canines are one of the most effective means of mine detection used today. While the highly specific and sensitive ol factory capability of canines is the primary mechanism of detection, the specific chemical signature used is not well understood. Thus, projects that will provide greater understanding of the ol factory process are also of interest. Such projects are expected to support the technology developments or provide insight for new concepts that mimic this capability. Despite their effectiveness, there are severe limitations associated with the use of canines: the logistics requirements are extensive, their work periods can be as short as 30 minutes under adverse conditions, and often experienced handlers are not able to tell when a temporary medical condition has degraded the dog's ol factory capacity. Chemical detection of low vapor-pressure explosive compounds is difficult. (The equilibrium vapor phase concentration for TNT is less than 10 ppb and for RDX is less than 10 ppt. It may be possible to exploit other chemicals characteristic of explosives or ordnance casings. In such cases, proposers should fully address the issue of signature uniqueness.) Current laboratory analytical techniques are capable of highly sensitive, chemically specific analyses, however, these systems are large and often require detailed knowledge on the part of the system operator. Recent advances in chemically specific sensors for the detection of minute quantities (sub ppb or ppt range) such as surface acoustic wave technology, immunoassay or ``biosensor'' techniques, conducting polymer-based techniques, photoacoustic cells, ion mobility, and mass spectrometry, among others, as well as novel technologies such as nuclear quadrupole resonance that sense explosives in the condensed phase, may afford new opportunities for the detection of explosives in military applications. In addition, as sampling systems for many technologies are critical to system performance, proposed projects should specifically address the issue of sampling, innovative approaches to sampling that can be paired with multiple detectors will be considered responsive. A total of about $25M is expected to be available in FY97-99 for this program. This work complements and leverages other programs in substance detection conducted under the auspices of the FAA, Customs, the Secret Service, the Department of State, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and other Department of Defense activities such as chemical and biological warfare defense. MEETING INFORMATION: A meeting concerning the program will be held for interested parties on June 3, 1996 at the Renaissance Arlington Hotel, 950 N. Stafford Street, Arlington, VA, (703) 528-6000. The purpose of the meeting is to review the program and to solicit input from the industrial sector regarding the program focus, objectives, and general approach to execution. The meeting will include an overview of the program, some preliminary results from chemical analyses at a minefield, as well as other pertinent information regarding the expected chemical signature, followed by a Q&A session. The meeting will also include a brief overview of other potential applications for technologies developed in this program. Input from meeting participants regarding additional information desired in sensor or sampler development efforts are sought. Interested offerors will be encouraged to provide comments and recommendations for the program planning and BAA and to arrange follow-on meetings with the DARPA program manager, Dr. R. E. Dugan, as needed. The program will begin at 10:00 am and conclude at 4:00 pm. Attendees must preregister by sending email or FAX with name, organization, address, phone, fax, email, and areas of expertise and interest to Ryan Gallagher at System Planning Corporation: rgallagher@sysplan.com, (703) 351-8662 (FAX) by May 31, 1996. (Email preferred.) A list of attendees with a description of area of expertise and interest will be distributed at all attendees to encourage teaming. Further information on the program will be provided in a solicitation package that will be available July 22, 1996. Note: This meeting has been scheduled so that participants who wish to attend the Biological and Chemical Sensor Technologies Workshop on 4-6 June, 1996, are able to minimize travel. Information on this workshop may be obtained from the 10 May, 1996 issue of the CBD (PSA#1592).

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