# Project PT2 — Protect (Applied Research)

**Program element:** 0602384BP — Chemical and Biological Defense Program  
**Project:** PT2  
**Component:** Defense-Wide  
**Appropriation:** 0400 — RDT&E, Defense-Wide  
**Budget Activity:** 2 — Applied Research  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602384BP/PT2  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602384BP

## Summary

Project PT2 — Protect (Applied Research) requests $78.0M in FY2027, 38% of the $207.2M requested for program element 0602384BP, up 51% on FY2026. 8 R-2A activities decompose the request.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 45.8 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 51.8 |
| FY2027 | Request | 78.0 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 56.9 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 51.7 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 52.7 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 49.5 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0602384BP; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project PT2 buys

The Protect Applied Research Project provides the Joint Force the ability to prevent the effects from exposure to chemical and biological hazards. PT2 emphasizes increasing protection capability and reducing physiological effects, preventing or reducing individual and collective exposures, applying prophylaxis to prevent or mitigate negative physiological effects, and protecting critical equipment in chemical and biological (CB) environments. Thrust Areas included in this Project are: (1) Biological Warfare Defense Prophylaxis (2) Biological Warfare Defense Prophylaxis - Enhanced Biological Defense (3) Air Purification Enhancements (4) All-Hazards & Respiratory Protection (5) Multifunctional Materials for Protection (MMfP) (6) Protective Garments (7) Enabling Science (8) Nerve Agent Prophylaxis

## Activities (R-2A) — 8

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8) Nerve Agent Prophylaxis | 3.8 | 3.3 | 21.1 | +548% | [a7](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602384BP/PT2/a7) |
| 2) Biological Warfare Defense Prophylaxis - Enhanced Biological Defense | 19.8 | 21.0 | 20.9 | −0% | [a1](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602384BP/PT2/a1) |
| 1) Biological Warfare Defense Prophylaxis | 13.4 | 16.4 | 20.9 | +27% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602384BP/PT2/a0) |
| 5) Multifunctional Materials for Protection | 3.7 | 4.0 | 8.5 | +114% | — |
| 6) Protective Garments | 2.6 | 3.7 | 3.3 | −11% | — |
| 4) All-Hazards and Respiratory Protection | 0.7 | 1.5 | 1.9 | +28% | — |
| 3) Air Purification Enhancements | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.4 | +0% | — |
| 7) Enabling Science | 0.8 | 0.6 | — | −100% | — |

> Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. In the request year they partition this project exactly; in earlier years they can under-cover it.

### 8) Nerve Agent Prophylaxis

- Continue the identification and development of lead medicine candidates. - Additional drug candidates that utilize several different technical approaches will be pursued.

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602384BP/PT2/a7

### 2) Biological Warfare Defense Prophylaxis - Enhanced Biological Defense

- Continue development of machine learning tool for vaccine selection by adding additional platform data and functionality. Transition to Project PT3/Protect Biological Warfare Defense Prophylaxis thrust area for further development. - Continue to test threat agnostic prophylactic products as stand-alone Medical Countermeasures (MCM) and…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602384BP/PT2/a1

### 1) Biological Warfare Defense Prophylaxis

- Continue to evaluate and develop new tools/assays that can predict vaccine effectiveness against infection and disease. - Continue to evaluate and develop strategies for safer vaccines and to optimize the effectiveness of a vaccine, to include antigen and formulation optimization, alternative delivery mechanisms and cell targeting…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602384BP/PT2/a0

### 5) Multifunctional Materials for Protection

**FY2027 planned work.** - Research novel, reactive/catalytic materials, and engineer materials through defined, feasible processes. - Computationally model and design novel material candidates for synthesis and characterize for threat neutralization. - Screen new candidates that optimize feasibility, protection performance, and cost metrics. - Internally transition high-performance novel materials to applied and advanced applied research for integration, scaling, and manufacturing.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Increase due to acceleration of pipeline for maturation and internal transition of new materials. These materials will provide non-PFAS repellency, detoxify threats, regenerate capacity, and can be integrated into textiles, filters, coatings, and decontaminants at low cost.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Test novel materials for protection and hazard mitigation proof-of-concept as they mature from fundamental research to applied research. - Use machine learning techniques to develop materials that destroy chemical and biological agents more quickly and effectively.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Developed scaled materials manufacturing processes for cost and process efficiency and characterize materials using operationally relevant test methods. - Assessed new materials (i.e., biologically inspired and two-dimensional) for protection and hazard mitigation proof-of-concept as they mature from fundamental research to applied research. - Used machine learning techniques to develop materials that destroy chemical and biological agents more quickly and effectively.

### 6) Protective Garments

**FY2027 planned work.** - Develop, verify, and validate operationally-relevant test method to evaluate the ability of protective garment swatches to detoxify chemical agents on contact. - Incorporate elasticity into laminated, self-detoxifying fabrics. - Incorporate materials that do not contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into coatings and fabrics and test for improve chemical agent resistance of individual protection systems. - Generate individual protection designs for self-detoxifying fabric technologies and testing data packages for integration into protective garment prototypes. - Develop and test regenerative protective fabric and garment prototypes using whole system methodologies for chemical threat protection, neutralization, and increased service life.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Decrease due to funding progression to Budget Activity 3 to support validation of manufacturing and scaling approaches for protective garment prototypes to reduce the risk of failure as the technology matures.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Continue testing and down selection of prototype protective garment designs made from reactive fabric that detoxifies chemical and biological agents and regenerates protective capacity. - Perform whole system testing of prototype protective garment designs made from reactive fabric to measure chemical agent and aerosol protection. - Complete scaling and manufacturing processes for prototype protective garments made from reactive fabric that detoxifies chemical and biological agents and regenerate protective capacity. - Identify and test protective garment fabric treatments that repel chemical agents and do not contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Developed, verified, validated, and transitioned improved protective garment prototype test methodologies that provide greater validation of CB protection, are repeatable, and support testing under relevant conditions to the Next Generation Individual Protection program. - Continued development of scaling and manufacturing processes for prototype protective garments that detoxify chemical and biological agents and regenerate protective capacity. - Continued to develop and test materials that do not contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for coatings and fabrics that improve chemical agent resistance of individual protection systems.

### 4) All-Hazards and Respiratory Protection

**FY2027 planned work.** - Continue to test and evaluate multiple designs for innovative, low burden respirator prototypes for full spectrum protection, physiological burden, and cost. - Validate operationally-relevant protocols for general purpose next generation respiratory protection prototype testing to determine performance on the battlefield. - Validate manufacturing processes for new, low profile respiratory protection filter designs that focus on domestic sourcing, reduced cost, and modern methods (like additive manufacturing).

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Increase supports development and verification of laboratory testing, manufacturing, and scaling methods for next generation respiratory protection methods to reduce risk of failure as the technology matures.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Complete down selection of final prototype designs for low-burden, unencumbering protective mask that integrates with existing systems (e.g., helmets and displays) and may include off-the-face and low-profile filter designs. - Complete validation of manufacturing and scaling methods for next generation respiratory protection, including potentially using additive manufacturing to produce customized mask for each warfighter, improving affordability and integration while reducing burden. - Initiate testing of new individual protection filter designs for next generation protective mask.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Completed designs for prototype low-burden, unencumbering respirator that integrates with existing systems (e.g., helmets and displays) and may include off-the-face and low-profile filter designs. - Continued to develop new individual protection filter for next generation protective mask. - Continued development of a novel protective garment for specialists with equivalent protection to Level A but with greater flex, mobility, and reduce physiological burden.

### 3) Air Purification Enhancements

**FY2027 planned work.** - Assess and publish report on novel filter materials performance against conventional and advanced agents delivered in all states of matter (vapor, aerosol, and liquid) in operationally relevant environments. - Publish report in Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) for current filtration systems performance against advanced chemical threats. - Reduce life-cycle costs by adding novel materials to filter beds, validating manufacturing processes, and performing and validating new operationally relevant test methods.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Continue engineering and testing of new filtration technologies with more stable, reactive materials for a next generation M98 filter to reduce costs and extend filter operational life. - Initiate testing of a next generation individual protection filter for advanced threats as part of the next generation protective mask. - Continue to reduce life-cycle maintenance costs by validating manufacturing processes and performing and validating new operationally relevant test methods. - Improve filter integration/interoperability into service equipment and platforms that offer protection against diverse threat agents. - Continue to assess and mitigate impact of advanced threats on current and developing filtration technologies.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Integrated and test new respiratory protection filtration materials for improved performance against the full spectrum of threats. - Redesigned an improved collective protection filter with extended filter life. - Continued to assess impact of novel threats on current filter performance.

### 7) Enabling Science

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Funding transfers to the Nerve Agent Prophylaxis thrust area starting in FY 2027.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Initiate and complete exploration of encapsulation technologies for catalytic enzymes.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Continued to develop well characterized safety/efficacy models with the goal of applying for status as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) qualified safety/efficacy models. This is key to support the development of cMCMs that provide protection for the warfighter against chemical warfare agents (CWAs).

## What is NOT on this page

Congressional marks, the R-2 mission description and acquisition strategy, the industry vs government split of the whole request, and related program elements are recorded at **program-element** grain — an NDAA mark lands on a PE, never on a project. They are at https://hitchintel.com/programs/0602384BP.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0602384BP project PT2 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0602384BP")`.

*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Budget figures are requests/estimates, not obligations.*