Battelle has won a five-year, $17 million contract to help the U.S. Air Force conduct research that advances health protection for the warfighter in present and near-future operational environments.
The contract was awarded under the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Airman Readiness Medical Research (ARMR) broad agency announcement. Research and development will be conducted for the Biosciences Division (711 HPW/RHB) from the Airman Systems Directorate in the 711th Human Performance Wing.
Battelle will leverage science and current and emerging technologies to improve the Air Force’s understanding of occupational and environmental exposures to Airmen and to deliver operationally relevant decision support to planners, commanders, team leaders, and healthcare providers.
There are eight specific research objectives in the ARMR broad agency announcement, and the Battelle contract scope addresses three of them: Airman Exposure Health, Cognitive and Physiologic Performance, and Space Exploration Research.
“Battelle brings a rare combination of world-class military force health protection experts, research, development, test and evaluation experts and specialized facilities to tackle this important work,” said Dr. Nicole Brennan, who leads Battelle’s Public and Military Health Division. “We are eager to continue working with the Air Force on this contract knowing the positive impact we can have on warfighters’ health and, by extension, on the health of their families and communities.”
“For more than 15 years, Battelle has been a trusted force health protection research partner of the 711th Human Performance Wing, bolstering readiness, enhancing combat lethality, and protecting the health of forces that project air power,” said Paul Pirkle, Force Health Protection Solutions Architect and S&T Integrator. “Over the next five years, Battelle will build on this legacy and help actualize RHB’s research vision by delivering operationally relevant solutions that support aeromedical aspects of Agile Combat Employment.”