In the past, fielding technologies to warfighters has followed a structured lather, rinse, repeat routine. The demand signal for a capability comes from the services, requirements to fulfill that capability are documented, equipment is developed ensuring that each requirement is met, and then the item is fielded. That process can sometimes take decades depending on the complexity of the requirement. However, a decade is too long to wait when it comes to biological threats. Due to the evolution of technology and the possibility for state actors to introduce new and engineered threats, pacing the biological threat has become an even more difficult task, and one that needs to be tackled quickly. The Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) understands that and is looking to an incremental approach to fielding products to get warfighters the capabilities they need today, while continuing innovation to meet evolving threats.
Currently fielded biological identification systems don’t account for engineered or emerging threats and can only identify a few select Biological Warfare Agents. While laboratory-based sequencing can identify far more organisms, it can take days to weeks to process. Waiting days or weeks to identify an agent or understand next steps can severely hamper a Commander’s tactical decision-making ability. To ensure that our troops can maintain operations in the face of biothreats, the JPEO-CBRND’s Joint Project Manager for CBRN Special Operations Forces (JPM CBRN SOF) and its partners are working together to develop and incrementally field a game changing technology, called Far Forward Biological Sequencing (FFBS), that aims to take biological testing and sequencing out of the laboratory and onto the battlefield.
FFBS is a system that combines sample preparation equipment, consumables, a sequencing device, and back-end bioinformatics analysis with an intuitive front-facing user interface. When used together, this system will allow for the identification of any biological organism within the database, as well as the ability to alert the user to the presence of a potential genetically modified organism (GMO). The resulting data can also be sent to reachback facilities where subject matter experts (SMEs) can further analyze the threats, driving adjustments to the database. This system will provide near real-time identification of biological threats to decrease the tactical decision timeline from weeks to hours/minutes. FFBS significantly increases the situational awareness of biological threats to Special Operation Forces operating in a far-forward environment and enables real-time tactical decision-making for Commanders. With FFBS, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) forces will have a cutting-edge tool to identify biological threats without lab training, making the capability accessible to the tactical operator.
USSOCOM operators need rapid and enhanced CBRN analysis capabilities to compete and win on the evolving battlefield. To ensure that operators can get the capability they need when they need it, FFBS is the first program at JPEO-CBRND to adopt an incremental fielding approach, allowing USSOCOM to receive enhanced capability at the speed of relevance while allowing continued technology maturation to occur simultaneously. “JPEO CBRND’s P.A.I.D. U.P. philosophy is our way of ensuring that we are delivering on our commitments to the warfighter,” said Traci Sheely, JPM CBRN SOF Joint Product Lead for the USSOCOM theater portfolio. “People first, adapt to the Joint Force needs, integrate layered CBRN defense, deliver on our commitments, unity of command, and pivot to incremental capability. This implies that we have the inherent responsibility to listen to the Joint Force and get them the capability at the speed of relevance, to fight and win in a CBRN denied environment.”
FFBS is currently an Acquisition Category IV program that achieved a successful Milestone B and Materiel Development Decision (MDD) in March 2024. FFBS will be delivered to priority USSOCOM units in increments. The first increment began with the 2024 Milestone B when the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Joint Science and Technology Office (DTRA JSTO) transitioned Far-Forward Advanced Sequencing Technology (F-FAST) to JPM CBRN SOF and was re-established as FFBS. In its increment one, FFBS operators will manually prepare the suspected biological material for sequencing by processing it through a rapid and streamlined sample preparation process that does not require laboratory training/pipetting. This process includes cell lysis, DNA/RNA purification, and library preparation. Once prepared, the sample is loaded into a consumable flow cell developed by Oxford Nanopore Technologies, which is placed into a MinION Mk1D sequencer from the same company. As the sequencer is running, data analysis software on the FFBS device maps the sequencing reads to the system’s onboard database and the system’s operator is presented with a color-coded result displayed on the system’s integrated touchscreen. In less time than your average Integrated Product Team (IPT) meeting, FFBS provides sequencing results to the operator at or near the objective. The preparation and processing time will only become faster and simpler as the FFBS technology evolves. The second increment, which has an anticipated fielding date of late FY28, aims to automate the sample and library preparation process. Increment three, which has an anticipated fielding date of FY31, will introduce full automation and agnostic sample prep.
Leading up to the program, USSOCOM worked closely with subject matter experts to develop a Capabilities Development Document (CDD) that fully encompassed their established shortfalls, with a focused consideration on the reality of development timelines and when the user base should expect to see the capability in their footprint. That teamwork to create requirements together allowed FFBS to progress from a concept to CDD in just about two years. The team attributes that timeline and their Milestone B success to the work done at the many user touchpoints the technology has been integrated into.
Dr. Cory Bernhards, FFBS SME and scientist in DEVCOM CBC’s Biodefense Branch, first engaged with USSOCOM roughly six years ago when he was a performer under the F-FAST program. Dr. Bernhards said he appreciated the opportunity to attend meetings with USSOCOM to discuss and assist in the drafting of requirements around a biological sequencing capability. “They allowed subject matter experts like me to weigh in on the requirement as they were writing it. This resulted in a requirement that made sense from a technology and scientific standpoint, and it was something that was realistic and achievable.” Dr. Bernhards said.
Jerrett Davis, USSOCOM, recalls getting invited to a capability development workshop with the researchers early on. “Often times, services would give a long list of requirements that are necessary but would take 20 years to realize in a product rather than the operators’ urgent need - now. With this program, USSOCOM users worked directly with researchers to prioritize the requirements and decide on an incremental timeline to develop and roll out each of those capability insertions that can build on each other. It allows us to give them something that can be effective today, while building something that can be even more effective tomorrow.”
Understanding where technology is currently and what is realistic, while waiting for future improvements requires teamwork, transparency, and patience. In addition to close collaboration with their end users, JPM CBRN SOF also incorporates other resources like market research and industry partnerships to continuously understand the current state of technology. This understanding enables them to create timelines that align relevant technology with realistic fielding dates. Major Hope Poster, Assistant Program Manager for FFBS, JPM CBRN SOF, said that those cross-disciplinary teams coming together allowed the incremental strategy to work by giving all stakeholders insight into what is ready to field in the near term versus what kinds of technology need to further mature to meet warfighter requirements.
“For example, right now we can deliver FFBS with manual sample prep, because the technology for automating prep isn’t there yet, so we pushed automation to increment two. Then, as we continued to discuss requirements, we learned that the operators can’t sustain cold-chain storage for consumables, and that technology needs to be matured, so that becomes a goal of a future increment,” MAJ Poster said. “We, as the advanced developers, sometimes have to help our end users understand where the technology is today and where we can get it to tomorrow.”
An essential part of technology maturation is validating the capability in an operationally relevant environment. USSOCOM operators were able to demonstrate the FFAST technology at Dragon Spear, a CBRN research, development, and acquisition training experiment (RDAX), in 2022 and 2023 and that technology evolved to FFBS at Dragon Spear 2024. These engagements gave the FFBS program team more opportunity to get feedback from the operators and gave operators a chance to demonstrate biotechnology, which has not been a focal point of these exercises in the past. Both the SMEs and program managers were on ground alongside users to capture feedback and explain the technology to the nearly 100 USSOCOM operators in attendance at each experiment. Operators tested the limits of FFBS in a series of operationally driven scenarios designed to mimic the conditions of their real-world response requirements, to include wearing the highest Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) gear. In 2022, users were introduced to the technology and gave initial feedback on FFAST; in 2023 and 2024, the same users were able to see the progress made from the first year and were given a “first look” at using the automated sampling prep capabilities that will be included in FFBS increment two.
“They gave us their honest feedback about aspects that they liked or wanted to change, but at the end of the day all the operators told us that the automated sample prep (increment two) is an absolute game changer. We cannot wait to get this fielded as soon as possible,” MAJ Poster said.
The development and fielding of FFBS marks a pivotal shift in how USSOCOM operators will identify and interact with biological threats. By embracing an incremental approach, JPM CBRN SOF is ensuring that operators receive critical capabilities now while continuing to evolve the technology for future needs. Gone are the days of waiting decades for a perfect solution; FFBS is proof that collaboration between warfighters, scientists, and program managers can drive innovation at the speed of relevance. By integrating operator feedback, leveraging S&T and industry partnerships, and prioritizing realistic fielding timelines, the program is delivering near real-time biological threat identification to the battlefield today, with even greater advancements on the horizon.
Ultimately, FFBS isn’t just a new tool; it’s a new way of thinking about capability development. It embodies the commitment to provide USSOCOM forces with cutting edge technology that enables them to operate in a CBRN contested environment with confidence.
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