DoD Continues Investment In WMD Sensors

January 11, 2010 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: Business Line, Companies, Contract Awards, Department of Defense, Events, SBIR, Services, States, Wisconsin, development program 

The 2010 defense budget just signed last month includes further funding for Platypus Technologies to continue their research and development of a sensor for chemical and biological weapons based on liquid crystals. The value of this contract which lasts one year is about $2 million. Platypus is one of the leading innovators in the use of this LCD technology for uses such as this. The goal is to have a hand held sensor that changes color or intensity based on what it detects.

Since Desert Storm in 1991 the U.S. military has been working hard to develop systems that detect chemical and other Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) from a distance and more safely then the traditional swipe systems used for most of the last century. They have built ones based on lasers that can be vehicle mounted. This idea would work in the open air. Platypus needs to build a system that controls for variables like temperature and humidity while being able to detect trace amounts of gases and biological matter. This is what this research is focusing on. The company had previously received funding through the Defense Department’s Small Innovative Business Research (SBIR) program.

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Navy Awards LCS Contract

March 4, 2009 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: Business Line, Contract Additions, Contract Awards, Events, Marinette Marine, Services, States, U.S. Navy, Wisconsin, production program 

The U.S. Navy awarded Marinette Marine a contract modification in order to “preserve production capability” for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program. The Business Journal reports that Marinette Marine was part of a team with Lockheed Martin that built one of the first two LCS ships for the Navy. The Navy plans to award two more ships and it was believed that only one of the two teams that had built a ship each would qualify for this next order. This contract action prevented Marinette Marine from cutting back on its work force, hence the preserving part. There is still no guarantee that the company will get further LCS work but it keeps the option open.

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