UK Military Personnel practice CBRN decontamination techniques using Argon Electronic’s CamSIM chemical warfare hazard training simulator
In the evolving realm of CBRNe threats, simulation technology is indispensable for training military and first responder units, offering realism, cost savings, and enhanced readiness against modern security challenges.
Decades of secrecy shrouded Gruinard Island, laying off the western coast of Scotland. The island was deemed too dangerous to allow public access after it was contaminated during World War Two germ warfare experiments. In 1981, an unknown group calling themselves the Dark Harvest Commandos issued an ultimatum: clean up or face an Anthrax nightmare. This early attempt at bioterrorism serves as a reminder that such dangers still exist today.
While CBRNe capability has improved enormously, investment in training remains a lower priority than it should be. Improved use of CBRNe simulators in training is not only cost-effective but also provides agile, safe, and demanding training scenario solutions.
Chernobyl's new sarcophagus took two decades to make. Bigger than Wembley Stadium and taller than the Statue of Liberty, it is intended to seal in the entire disaster site for 100 years. It’s an extraordinary engineering effort.
Mustard gas was first used as a weapon of terror bringing chemical weapons to the battlefield. However, the properties that made it an agonising killer also made it into the basis for a frontline cancer treatment.
The UK fleet of TPz Fuchs 1 vehicles procured hastily for CBRN reconnaissance duty in the first Gulf War has survived a number of defence cuts and has returned to service following an extensive capability regeneration and enhancement programme.
The US response to the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster provided valuable lessons for the US military and its allies in creating a radiological detection and analysis capability that can offer real-time shared situational awareness.
The deadly nerve agent VX was used in the assassination of Kim Jong Un’s half-brother, Kim Jong Nam. It is the most lethal of the nerve agents produced, more so than Sarin, and has an interesting if shadowy history.
In September 1987, a small amount of Cesium-137 was removed from an abandoned cancer-therapy machine in Brazil. This petty theft resulted in hundreds of people being eventually poisoned by radiation from the substance. The incident highlighted the danger that even relatively small amounts of radiation can pose.
Argon’s Steven Pike considers what radiation sources are and why despite their application in everyday life, the existence of radiation sources should not be taken for granted.