The US Army is racing to push humans farther from the front lines of chemical and biological warfare, turning to autonomous drones and robots to scrub away deadly contamination. Instead of soldiers in heavy suits hosing down poisoned vehicles by hand, the emerging vision puts unmanned systems in the hot zone, mapping invisible toxins and methodically cleaning them off metal and concrete. The shift is not just about convenience, it is about survival in environments where a trace of nerve agent or radiological dust can kill.
Behind the scenes, specialized Army research centers and private partners are stitching together sensors, software and new decontamination tools into a family of autonomous cleaners. From small aerial drones to unmanned ground vehicles and heat-based chambers, these systems are being designed to hunt chemical, radiological, nuclear and biological hazards, then neutralize them with minimal human exposure. The result is a quiet but profound change in how the United States plans to fight, and recover from, weapons of mass destruction.
The Army’s new autonomous CBRN playbook
At the core of this transformation is a push to let machines, not people, take the first step into contaminated terrain. In scenarios described by the Army, a platoon under threat from chemical or radiological weapons would call on autonomous systems to move ahead of the formation, detect hazards and begin cleanup while troops stay under cover. These robotic helpers are framed as a way to protect the warfighter and support the wider Joint Force mission, especially when the environment is saturated with toxic agents that can linger on vehicles and equipment long after an attack, a role highlighted in recent autonomous systems reporting.
The Army’s chemical and biological experts see autonomy as a natural extension of long standing CBRN doctrine, which has always tried to keep soldiers out of the worst danger zones. One of the central organizations driving this shift is the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center, known as DEVCOM CBC, which has been showcasing how it can Innovates and Integrates through Autonomous Technologies at Aberdeen Proving Ground. By embedding autonomy into detection, protection and decontamination, DEVCOM CBC is trying to ensure that future operations in contaminated battlespace are faster, more precise and far less risky for the people involved.
Inside the Autonomous Equipment Decontamination System
The most concrete example of this strategy is the Autonomous Equipment Decontamination System, or AED System, which DEVCOM CBC has been refining as a prototype for future cleanup operations. In that prototype, the Autonomous Equipment Decontamination concept uses sensors and software to identify contaminated areas of a military vehicle and then direct cleaning tools only where they are needed, a capability DEVCOM CBC has demonstrated as part of its broader Autonomous Equipment Decontamination research. The goal is to move away from blanket spraying and toward targeted treatment that conserves resources and shortens exposure time.
Soldiers have already been given a chance to test drive this approach in the field. During recent demonstrations, the Autonomous Equipment Decontamination System consisted of a camera mounted on a UGV, or unmanned ground vehicle, that circled a contaminated vehicle while scanning for traces of chemical agents. Once it mapped the hot spots, the system guided decontamination tools to those specific locations, conserving decontaminant and saving time, according to Army descriptions of how Autonomous Equipment Decontamination works. A separate account of the same trials notes that Currently it takes a team of 20 to 30 Soldiers in full protective gear 45 to 60 m to decontaminate each vehicle exposed to chemical agents, a benchmark that shows just how disruptive automation could be if it reliably cuts that workload, as highlighted in the Soldiers testing data.
Robotic cleaners, drones and heat-based scrubbers
The AED System is part of a wider family of robotic cleaners that the Army is experimenting with to counter chemical and biological threats. In one set of trials, the service has been testing robotic cleaners specifically aimed at Nuclear, chemical and biological agents, often grouped under the NBC label, which are described as extremely toxic and capable of causing harm with even trace amounts. These tests underscore how the Army is trying to use unmanned systems to confront Nuclear, NBC hazards without sending people into areas where a single mistake can be fatal. Another report on the same robotic decontamination effort describes a system that includes a camera mounted on an unmanned ground vehicle, programmed to circle the target vehicle while scanning and then directing decontamination to the most contaminated areas, a process that has been showcased as a way to improve precision and efficiency in Nov testing.
Alongside ground robots, the Army is also looking at aerial platforms and fixed infrastructure to handle contaminated gear. One prominent example is a heat-based decontamination project known as CHAD, which has now become a formal program of record. Two of the biggest benefits to CHAD are that multiple pieces of equipment can be decontaminated at once and equipment can be returned to service more quickly as the technology continues to mature, according to Army descriptions of the Two of the CHAD system. DEVCOM CBC has also highlighted Other DEVCOM CBC technologies that cover detection, protection and decontamination, including an Autonomous Biological capability that fits into this broader ecosystem of automated CBRN tools, as showcased in a recent Other DEVCOM CBC technology event.
Scaling up: from prototypes to 10,000 drones a month
For autonomous decontamination to matter on a modern battlefield, the Army will need not just clever prototypes but mass production. That is where a separate push on small unmanned aerial systems comes into play. Starting next year, the Army expects it will be able to domestically mass produce upwards of 10,000 small unmanned aerial systems each month once its first dedicated site is up and running, a figure that shows how aggressively the service is trying to scale Starting drone manufacturing. While many of those aircraft will be used for reconnaissance or strike missions, the same industrial base can support fleets of small drones equipped with chemical sensors or decontamination payloads that can fly into contaminated zones where ground robots cannot easily reach.
The Army is already experimenting with how to integrate such aerial systems into its CBRN toolkit. One example comes from Apellix, a company that has partnered with the US Department of Defense on drone based inspection and spraying systems. Apellix notes that its platforms have been Flown by the Army and that it works with the US Department of Defense to address the threat of chemical warfare, a sign that the service is exploring how tethered or autonomous drones might apply decontaminants or coatings on large structures without putting people at risk, as described in the company’s Apellix partnership overview. In parallel, Army planners are looking at how these aerial and ground systems can be networked so that a contaminated area is first mapped by sensors, then scrubbed by robots, all while human operators supervise from a safe distance.
From lab concept to battlefield doctrine
What ties these efforts together is a broader shift in how the Army thinks about fighting through chemical, radiological and nuclear attacks. Recent analysis of new robotic systems emphasizes that the Army intends to use Autonomous platforms to kill chemical, radiological and nuclear threats before they can cripple a unit, positioning these machines as a buffer between the warfighter and the hazard. In that framing, the Army and other services see Autonomous systems as a way to keep operations moving even when adversaries try to contaminate key terrain, a concept that has been laid out in detail in descriptions of how the Army plans to counter weapons of mass destruction. DEVCOM CBC’s work on Innovates and Integrates through Autonomous Technologies at Aberdeen Proving Ground is one of the clearest signs that this is not a one off experiment but a sustained effort to embed autonomy into multi domain operations, as highlighted in its DEVCOM CBC narrative.
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