# Project PT3 — Protect (ATD)

**Program element:** 0603384BP — Chemical and Biological Defense Program - Advanced Development  
**Project:** PT3  
**Component:** Defense-Wide  
**Appropriation:** 0400 — RDT&E, Defense-Wide  
**Budget Activity:** 3 — Advanced Technology Development  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603384BP/PT3  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603384BP

## Summary

Project PT3 — Protect (ATD) requests $57.5M in FY2027, 19% of the $310.3M requested for program element 0603384BP, up 24% on FY2026. 10 R-2A activities decompose the request.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 46.9 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 46.3 |
| FY2027 | Request | 57.5 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 67.2 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 62.9 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 61.8 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 59.9 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0603384BP; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project PT3 buys

The Protect Advanced Technology Development (ATD) Project enhances mission performance while providing effective protection against current and emerging chemical and biological (CB) threats, enables Joint Force lethality by protecting warfighters against adverse effects of CB hazards, and fields interim protection capabilities against engineered biological agents, opioids and other Pharmaceutical Based Agents (PBAs), and Fourth Generation Agents (FGAs). Thrust Areas included in this Project are: (1) Biological Warfare Defense Prophylaxis (2) Nerve Agent Prophylaxis (3) Air Purification Enhancements (4) All-Hazards and Respiratory Protection (5) Enhanced Survivability Coatings (6) Multifunctional Materials for Protection (MMfP) (7) Protective Garments (8) Air Purification Enhancements - Enhanced Biological Defense (9) All-hazards and Respiratory Protection - Enhanced Biological Defense (10) Protective Garments - Enhanced Biological Defense

## Activities (R-2A) — 10

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2) Nerve Agent Prophylaxis | 12.1 | 10.2 | 24.0 | +135% | [a1](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603384BP/PT3/a1) |
| 1) Biological Warfare Defense Prophylaxis | 23.8 | 27.9 | 23.6 | −16% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603384BP/PT3/a0) |
| 7) Protective Garments | 4.1 | 1.6 | 4.1 | +155% | — |
| 4) All-Hazards and Respiratory Protection | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.9 | +63% | — |
| 8) Air Purification Enhancements - Enhanced Biological Defense | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +0% | — |
| 3) Air Purification Enhancements | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.8 | +0% | — |
| 6) Multifunctional Materials for Protection | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +0% | — |
| 5) Enhanced Survivability Coatings | 0.4 | — | — | — | — |
| 9) All-hazards and Respiratory Protection - Enhanced Biological Defense | 1.0 | 0.9 | — | −100% | — |
| 10) Protective Garments - Enhanced Biological Defense | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | −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.

### 2) Nerve Agent Prophylaxis

- Continue the development and optimization of lead medicine candidates at standards suitable for submission to the FDA. - Additional drug candidates that utilize different technical approaches will be pursued.

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603384BP/PT3/a1

### 1) Biological Warfare Defense Prophylaxis

- Transition broad spectrum vaccine to advanced development for Phase 1 clinical trial. - Complete nonclinical studies for two multivalent vaccine platforms using representative pathogens. - Continue development of oral, broad spectrum mRNA vaccine. - Continue preclinical development of marine toxin antibody cocktail for transition to…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603384BP/PT3/a0

### 7) Protective Garments

**FY2027 planned work.** - Develop, test, and optimize innovative manufacturing approaches to lower profile, reduce burden, and maximize domestic but decentralized production, surge capacities, and affordability. - Conduct user assessments for self-detoxifying protective garment prototypes to assess wearability, physiological burden, and integration with existing systems. - Continue whole garment system testing of prototype protective garment designs for self-detoxifying capacity to inform chemical and biological threat protection, neutralization, and increased service life. - Continue development and optimization of garment designs, test methods and manufacturing processes to methods to reduce risk of failure and support future transition within Fiscal Year Defense Plan. - Transition next generation protective glove that provides touchscreen compatibility. - Transition unencumbering protective garment for CBRN specialists that provides the highest level of protection as an alternative to Level A suits.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Program/project funding transferred from another funding line. - Increase due to shift in funding from project PT2 applied research to project PT3 advanced applied research and demonstration to support development of manufacturing and scaling approaches for protective garment prototypes.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Transition prototype reactive protective garment with extended service life and the ability to destroy threats on contact, to support development of the next generation protective garment. - Demonstrate and transition scaled manufacturing methods for reactive fabric prototype protective garments to inform cost projections for advanced development. - Transition reactive fabric swatch test methodologies that measure reactive capacity and durability to support protective garment development. - Complete whole garment system testing of prototype protective garment designs for self-detoxifying capacity to inform chemical and biological threat protection, neutralization, and increased service life. - Integrate protective garment fabric treatments into whole garment systems that repel chemical agents and do not contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Performed user assessments of prototype protective garments for self-detoxifying and regenerative capacity to inform iterative design improvements. - Continued swatch material and whole system testing of prototype protective garments for self-detoxifying and regenerative capacity to inform chemical threat protection, neutralization, and increased service life. - Accelerated development, optimization, and demonstration of scaled manufacturing methods for prototype protective garments for self-detoxifying and regenerative capacity to generate prototype designs for testing and inform cost projections. - Incorporated elasticity into laminated regenerative fabrics. -Transitioned first generation self-detoxifying protective garment containing metal oxides to the Next Generation Individual Protection program.

### 4) All-Hazards and Respiratory Protection

**FY2027 planned work.** - Transition wearable respiratory protection assessment system for operationally relevant mask fit testing to the Modernization Protection Individual Protection (MODPROT IP) program. - Transition anti-fogging test standard and improved optical correction for masks to the MODPROT IP program. - Initiate user assessments for reduced burden, low encumbrance next generation protective mask to optimize prototype mask designs in operational environments. - Begin development of manufacturing and scaling methods to reduce risk of failure for individual protection filter designs with enhanced protection against advanced threats and reduced profiles.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Increase supports testing of scalable manufacturing processes for individual protection filters.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Demonstrate wearable respiratory protection assessment system for operationally relevant mask fit testing for endorsement for use to inform future respirator technologies within the Modernization Protection Individual Protection (MODPROT IP) program. - Receive test and evaluation community endorsement for use of a protective mask lens standard that measures the impact of lens fogging on loss of vision. - Continue development and testing of next generation low burden protective mask designs and down select to final design. - Continue development and testing of low-profile individual protection filter for next generation mask. - Continue development of scalable manufacturing technologies for respirator technologies that protect against the full spectrum of threats in support of the range of military operations.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Continued to develop Full Spectrum Respiratory Protection System to extend on mission time and unencumber specialists and military first responders. - Engaged industry to complete development of wearable respiratory protection assessment system for operationally relevant mask fit testing. - Solicited test and evaluation community response for anti-fogging test standard and improved optical correction for masks. - Continued industry partnership to finalize a device for operationally relevant protective mask fit testing.

### 8) Air Purification Enhancements - Enhanced Biological Defense

**FY2027 planned work.** - Complete evaluation of technologies that enhance DoW facility collective protection to reduce risk of biological infection from internal or external sources. - Develop draft of technologies, guidelines, and engineering standards that extend collective protection filter life to reduce costs while maintaining or improving biological protection against traditional and emerging threats, and received community input for usability. - Publish draft of technologies, guidelines, and engineering standards on the Defense Technical Information Center website.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Continue to generate computational data that quantifies the range of biological infection risk reduction based on indoor air quality measurements. - Continue use of operationally relevant test beds to evaluate technologies that enhance DoW facility collective protection to reduce risk of biological infection from internal or external sources.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Use operationally relevant test beds to evaluate technologies that enhance DoD facility collective protection to reduce risk of biological infection from internal or external sources.

### 3) Air Purification Enhancements

**FY2027 planned work.** - Initiate assessments of next generation collective protection (COLPRO) Filter in shipboard and building collective protection systems. - Collect assessment data to determine operationally relevant performance improvements.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Test final prototypes of improved M98 filters with extended filter life. - Test initial filter material prototypes using improved individual filter designs for next generation respiratory mask. - Continue to improve filter integration/interoperability into Service equipment and platforms that offer protection against diverse threat agents.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Redesigned and down select improved next generation collective protection (COLPRO) M98 filter designs with extended filter life. - Improved filter integration/interoperability into Service equipment and platforms that offer protection against diverse threat agents. - Completed and transition residual life indicators for shipboard and facility collective protection systems that maximizes filter replacement schedule and reduces lifecycle costs.

### 6) Multifunctional Materials for Protection

**FY2027 planned work.** - Demonstrate pilot-scale manufacturing processes for fabric and textile and internally transition processes to Protective Garments Thrust on an annual basis for continued applied and advanced applied research. - Engineer fabric and textile swatches for optimal sorption and reactivity and transition technical insertions and processes to Protective Garments Thrust for whole garment manufacturing and testing on an annual basis.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Identify and characterize new materials that repel chemical agents and do not contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). - Test new non-PFAS materials for compatibility with textiles and surfaces to increase chemical agent repellency. - Continue to optimize scaled materials manufacturing processes for cost and process efficiency and characterize materials using operationally relevant test methods

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Optimized scaled materials manufacturing processes for cost and process efficiency and characterize materials using operationally relevant test methods. - Fabricated and test biologically inspired and two-dimensional materials for protection as they mature from applied research to advanced applied research.

### 5) Enhanced Survivability Coatings

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Continued long-term weathering study to evaluate polymer coating durability as potential temporary or permanent military equipment coatings to decrease logistical burden of decontamination. - Completed draft performance specification for equipment clear overcoats to increase agent repellency of current military equipment coatings.

### 9) All-hazards and Respiratory Protection - Enhanced Biological Defense

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Decrease between FY 2026 and FY 2027 due to project completion at end of FY 2026.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Complete manufacturing studies for candidate antimicrobial textiles for respirator prototypes. - Complete user assessment of lung and eye protection specifically for protection against biological agents.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Perform early user assessment of respiratory and ocular protection specifically for protection against biological agents.

### 10) Protective Garments - Enhanced Biological Defense

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Decrease between FY 2026 and FY 2027 due to project completion at end of FY 2026.

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Select final designs for antimicrobial protective garments and perform whole system aerosol testing to determine aerosol protection. - Scale and validate manufacturing of candidate antimicrobial textiles for prototype garments to inform cost assessments. - Perform user assessment of protective garments specifically for protection against biological agents to identify design improvements.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Perform early user assessment and swatch testing for percutaneous protection specifically for protection against biological agents.

## 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/0603384BP.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0603384BP project PT3 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0603384BP")`.

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