DARPA program bolsters water resources for deployed troops

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has initiated a program providing deployed units technology to capture potable water from the air in quantities sufficient to meet daily needs.

The Atmospheric Water Extraction (AWE) program seeks to aid the water resource effort even in extremely dry areas of the world.

“The demand for drinking water is a constant across all Department of Defense missions, and the risk, cost, and complexity that go into meeting that demand can quickly become force limiting factors,” Seth Cohen, the AWE program manager, said. “Right now, the military relies on purification of regional fresh and saline water sources, or transported bottled water, neither of which are optimal for mobile forces that operate with a small footprint.”

Cohen said DARPA is turning to atmospheric water extraction as a potential solution offering maximal operational flexibility with minimal risk.

The endeavor involves researchers supporting the Expeditionary Track targeting deliverables built around the daily potable water requirement for an individual, in a compact, portable form factor while researchers on the Stabilization Track will develop technology transportable on standard military vehicles and can support a company of up to 150 people.

“If the AWE program succeeds in providing troops with potable water even in arid climates, that gives commanders greater maneuver and decision space and allows operations to run longer,” Cohen said. “Ultimately, the technology could even diminish the motivation for conflicts over resources by providing a new source of drinking water to stressed populations.”