Background and Motivation

The Austrian Armed Forces (ÖBH) are carrying out peace support operations and relief missions all over the world. International crises with increasing frequency in ABC contamination and also life-threatening and highly contagious infectious diseases (Ebola, Coronavirus, etc.), require ÖBH's “ca-pabilities” to transport contaminated persons / personnel (military, embassy, Austrian citizens, international assistance), etc.). The use of aircrafts and the operation of military airfields must be provided by the ÖBH even under CBRN threats and the safety of crew, passengers and aircraft as well as ground personnel must be guaranteed by means of suitable equipment. There is currently no simple and reliable solution for the air transportation of contaminated people. Various providers work with impermeable solutions that require complex filter systems and air conditioning systems. There is currently no permeable solution worldwide for the transport of contaminated people in a transport aircraft.

Objectives and innovation aspects

The aim of the project is to develop a flexible, mobile, permeable inner tent solution for the prevention of contamination for the interior of the C130 Hercules. This is done on the basis of a multi-functional HCU-6 pallet and load-tested module construction. The solution developed by DEKO-AirTrans will make it possible to transport contaminated people to a location, if feasible in Austria, where due to the equipment and the personnel situation, the most complete decontamination (DEKO) can be carried out without contaminating the aircraft. This transport has to be carried out depending on the individual's personal condition and the type of contamination. The necessary monitoring of the transport situation is carried out on the one hand via sensors integrated in the inner tent and on the other hand via personal, permanent measurements based on a bio-sensor system in order to be able to initiate the necessary measures in a timely manner.

Desired results

In order to achieve the desired results, extensive tests and developments in the area of material properties for the inner tent and lock situations are necessary in order to optimize the DEKO-properties of the material. Resilience of the membrane solution (activated carbon filter solution based on a special „Tailored Fiber Placement“ process) in relation to the pressure situation as well as air permeability with simultaneous ABC tightness and the air conditioning of the inner tent via material functions are essential innovations. The development of a mobile solution based on smart medical devices will enable monitoring of the individual psycho-physical stress situation, automati-cally analyse critical developments and make individual documentation of the transport process available at the destination in order to be able to initiate DEKO measures.