Summer Myatt
Leidos has been awarded a prime contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to support a program intended to provide military and health care personnel with adaptive personal protection equipment.
Under the potential five-year, three-phase, $19.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, Leidos will work to develop advanced protective technologies that reduce the need for bulky equipment and increase individual protection against chemical and biological threats, the company said Wednesday.
“Leidos thrives at tackling the world’s toughest challenges; in this case, protecting frontline personnel against emerging threats with a revolutionary approach to personal protection equipment,” said Jim Carlini, chief technology officer of Leidos.
As part of its work for the Personalized Protective Biosystem program, Leidos will launch its new Smart Protective Integrated Dynamic Ensemble for Reactive, Multifaceted Agent Neutralization platform, known as SPIDERMAN.
SPIDERMAN will combine lightweight protective technology with tissue-protective biological countermeasures to neutralize chemical and biological threats.
Dr. John Dresios, executive biology director and principal investigator for Leidos’ PPB team, said SPIDERMAN is expected to “deliver transformative advancements” that will facilitate breakthroughs in CB protection.
The contract award continues the company’s work with DARPA. Earlier this year, Leidos’ Dynetics subsidiary secured a contract to test and launch unmanned aerial vehicles under the agency’s Gremlins program.
