Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) was recently awarded a contract to continue support for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Technical Reachback program.
ARA supports the DTRA Technical Reachback team in its mission to make our world a safer place by developing decision support products for the U.S. military, federal agencies, and interagency partners following an event involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or the release of hazardous materials – either deliberate or accidental.
The cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract has a maximum ceiling of $240,000,000, with a five-year base and additional five-year option period.
The Technical Reachback team, staffed by more than 30 subject matter experts from ARA, directly supports warfighters and emergency responders with rapid and relevant chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNE) technical expertise 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
The team provides critical, real-world support to United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) to assist in minimizing noncombatant casualties during the conduct of kinetic operations against targets containing hazardous material.
Closer to home, the team’s support as the Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center (IMAAC) Technical Operations Hub helps minimize casualties and assists responder decision-making by quickly providing atmospheric hazard prediction plots due to the release of toxic materials during fires, industrial or transportation accidents, and other incidents throughout the United States.
Through hazardous material plume modeling and expert analyses, the IMAAC provides state-of-the-art decision support information to assist federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency response officials increased capability to protect the public and the environment.
The IMAAC, a partnership of seven federal agencies led by FEMA, also aids in deconflicting plume models that may be produced by various organizations and helps rapidly adjudicate model outputs to come up with the single best product to be used by federal, state, and local officials.
The Technical Reachback team has developed and implemented many new and innovative ways of accomplishing critically important missions. These innovations and other improvements have resulted in faster, higher quality, and more effective decision support for the warfighter and first responder communities.
The scientists and engineers supporting Technical Reachback bring capabilities across the CBRNE realm, including meteorology, geospatial information science, information technology, and more.
“We are honored that the Defense Threat Reduction Agency has given ARA the opportunity to provide the technical support required for this important mission,” said Program Manager Chris Owens. “The ARA Technical Reachback Team is committed to providing DTRA excellent support by continuing to offer strong foundational science and engineering capabilities while leveraging technical advances to bring new capabilities to the agency for analyzing chemical biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive hazards.”
