Thales’s Spinnaker Biological Surveillance capability (known as BSCS in UK MOD) is a unique CBRN solution which enables effective collection and timely analysis of biological agents.
Spinnaker helps protect high risk focussed areas of personnel/population enabling any organisation to react and respond appropriately, and with confidence, to any nascent biological threat. The system therefore has application in protecting Critical National Infrastructure, major sporting events, international summits, as well as government and military assets.
It is not cost effective to have fixed biological collectors and analysis laboratories deployed reactively, especially against temporary targets. Spinnaker therefore provides an integrated and deployable capability that enables collection and analysis of samples to be done immediately and safely at the scene. Designed for rapid and sustained military deployment the whole system is qualified for use in some of the most demanding conditions worldwide.
This system was founded on 10 years and £10m of research conducted by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). A pragmatic and realistic approach was adopted from the outset to develop a capability that has a very high probability of particle collection with an extremely high confidence in particle identification.
Biological agents are notoriously difficult to capture and present for analysis. The clever part of the technology is the mechanism we have created for collecting and trapping the biological agents and delivering them to the secure laboratory facility in a way in which they can be eluted from a filter medium without becoming too dilute for analysis.
Each system comprises a Containment Level 3 (CL3) Bio Laboratory known as the ‘Central Node’ and 15 biological air ‘Collectors’. The number of collectors can be tailored to meet the user need and the dynamics of the area being protected with the system supporting up to 18 Collectors concurrently if required.
Periodically samples from the Collectors are returned to the Central Node for analysis within a ‘Filter Consumable’. The results of this analysis are used to inform decision makers as to whether they need to cordon, contain, identify and treat people. The collection cycle period can also be tailored to
meet the operational need.
Thales reached out to world class suppliers to develop the capability. Over 30 suppliers were involved in the development of the capability, 26 being UK companies - of which 18 are UK SME’s.