Battelle’s REBS system ready for deployment on Korean Peninsula

Battelle demonstrated on Friday that its new Resource Effective Bio-Identification System (REBS) can successfully perform all required functions, including the identification of threat agent bioaerosols.

REBS is a cost-effective bioaerosol identification system that provides rapid, flexible aerosol collection and identification capability. It continually monitors the air while looking for hazardous aerosols that may jeopardize the safety of civilians on the ground. The system also preserves samples for future study and can operate independently without human interaction for an extended period of time.

The REBS system was one of several candidate technologies to recently undergo the U.S. government’s performance trials with live agents. The system also made the down-selecting cut for the Joint United States Forces Korea Portal and Integrated Threat Recognition (JUPITR) program. Several REBS units are now planned for deployment to the Republic of Korea for an extended biological surveillance mission as part of the JUPITR program. The program itself is led by the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO-CBD) and will provide biological protection capabilities to address the demand for stronger biodefenses on the Korean Peninsula.

“We’re proud that our system performed so well and has been selected to be part of the JUPITR program that will help protect the war-fighter and civilians on the Korean Peninsula,” Matt Shaw, general manager for Battelle’s chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNE) defense business, said. “We’ve made significant improvements to reduce the time it takes to identify hazardous bioaerosols and to dramatically bring down the full life cycle costs.”