In a press release issued on its website on Septmeber 1st Sanofi Pasteur announced they will no longer be continuing with their Zika vaccine project.

The announcement comes after the company was informed by the The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) that, after an assessment of all Zika-related projects they are funding they have decided to focus on a more limited set of goals and deliverables. As a result of the review Sanofi Pasteur was notified of BARDA's decision to “de-scope” its contract with Sanofi Pasteur to fund the manufacture and clinical development of an inactivated Zika vaccine and will limit its funding.

Consequently, Sanofi does not intend to continue development of, or seek a license from, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research for the Zika vaccine candidate at this time.

The US military is helping Filipino soldiers prepare for possible chemical attacks by the Islamic State-inspired Maute group (also known as Islamic State of Lanao) as fighting continues in several parts of Mindanao.

According to the US Embassy in Manila, officials from the Joint United State Military Assistance Group has delivered 1,000 M40 field protective masks and C2 filter canisters to the Philippine Navy.

The support from the US came following the request of the Philippine Navy to help sailors and marines prepare for possible chemical attack of terrorists and following North Korea's test-firing of missile, which flew over Japan and landed in the northern Pacific Ocean.

The US embassy did not mention the particular operation in Mindanao where the protective equipment will be used.

The Armed Forces will receive more munitions and equipment from US military in an accelerated process reserved for allies and close partners of the United States through the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, the US embassy said.

“The United States is proud to work closely with the Republic of the Philippines and will continue to support capacity-building counterterrorism efforts and the AFP’s long-term modernization goals,” it added.

Russia has completed the destruction of all of its munitions containing lewisite, reported the head of the Federal Department for safe storage and destruction of chemical weapons, Colonel-General Valery Kapashin.

“The last Russian objective to destroy chemical weapons has today been completed with the destruction of munitions filled with the poison gas “lewisite,” said Kapashin

He recalled that the stocks of lewisite in the Russian Federation had been destroyed after those containing agents such as mustard gas, sarin and soman.

Kapashin noted that Russia only has a small batch of chemical munitions left to destroy, which are filled with VX. This will set the final point in the implementation of country’s obligations under OPCW agreement.

As militaries worldwide struggle with soldiers suffering from heat stress – due to increased training pressures and heavier kit – Equivital looks to combat these injuries and fatalities by designing wearable technology that can save soldier’s lives.

Equivital is launching V5 of its Black Ghost system at DSEI 2017, at stand S3-357. The Black Ghost Military System provides real-time, actionable information for critical decision making.

The new version brings unparalleled accessibility, new functionality and improved usability, having taken on detailed feedback from multiple military partners. The new system will enable commanders to make informed decisions, faster, with relevant data at their fingertips, on a mobile device or PC.

Progeny ResQ 1064nm handheld Raman provides emergency responders, law enforcement agencies and the military with the industry’s most comprehensive tool for chemical identification, CBRNe detection, and narcotics classification in a fast and simple handheld form.Faced with increasingly sophisticated chemical threats and global drug trafficking, Progeny ResQ provides users with confidence to:

Detect explosive threats quickly and accurately in harsh environments, identify a wide range of narcotics and illegal drugs and respond to suspicious hazardous materials that risk public safety.

Following the award of a $165M contract from the Department of Defense, VPI has designed and developed an advanced radiological detectionsystem (RDS) prototype that will be unveiled for the first time in public on Septmeber 12th 2017 at DSEI in London.

VPI’s RDS utilizes cutting edge technology and will be in use across all branches of the United States Armed Forces, as well as the US Coast Guard, emergency responders and NATO (especially in Canada and the UK). Such collaboration requires the system to be adaptable to many different applications; VPI is able to provide this flexibility through its expertise in the design and development of radiation detection technologies.

Announced on July 30th, the MOD awarded a contract for Explosive Ordnance Disposal Remote Controlled Vehicles (EOD RCV) and support to Harris under Project STARTER. Under the contract Harris will be providing the MOD with their T7™ Multi-Mission Robotic System. The contract is for 10 years and valued at £55.3m.

The T7 Multi-Mission Robotic System was developed by Harris to support the demanding requirements of commercial and military missions, including hazardous materials (HAZMAT) cleanup, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and special weapons and tactics (SWAT) missions. The T7 robot system has the strength and dexterity to tackle any challenge. Its rugged, automotive-grade track system provides outstanding mobility and maneuverability. A variety of attachments enable use of standard-issue sensors, disruptors, and tools, supporting a wide range of commercial and military missions, including HAZMAT and vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) defeat. In the configuration shown, T7 includes a pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ) camera mast, high power multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) radios.

FLIR Systems has received a delivery order for FLIR identiFINDER® R300 spectroscopic personal radiation detectors (SPRDs). The delivery order is under a five-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) for the Human Portable Tripwire (HPT) program. The order is valued at $10.595 million, with deliveries extending through the third quarter of 2018.

The CDC says it has \"quarantined\" some of its own stock-piled equipment following a 60 Minutes report that questioned whether the gear, recommended for protection against the Ebola virus, was defective.

The story by 60 Minutes quoted former employees and internal company documents regarding MICROCOOL surgical gowns made by Halyard Health (formerly a division of Kimberly-Clark). The investigation first aired in May 2016 and was re-broadcast on Sunday August 27th 2017.

Based on documents obtained under the FOI Act, 60 Minutes reported that MICROCOOL gowns were part of the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) which is maintained by the CDC.

Three counter-terrorism sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the militants had hoped to transform low-grade radioactive Thorium 232 (Th-232) into deadly Uranium 233 (U-233).

The plot was foiled when police raided homes and arrested five suspects in Bandung, West Java, last week.

The highly radioactive uranium would be combined with the powerful home-made explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP) to create a “nuclear bomb”, according to an instruction manual used by the militants and reviewed by Reuters.

The plot comes as Indonesia grapples with an influx of militants deported from other countries and the fallout from the Islamic State-led siege in the southern Philippines city of Marawi that regional leaders and analysts worry has energized militants across Southeast Asia

A spokesman for Indonesia’s national police, Inspector General Setyo Wasisto, declined to confirm or deny the plot to construct the device, but said it would have been more potent than the two bombs made from TATP that killed three police in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta in May.

“If this bomb was finished, it would have had a more destructive impact than the bomb made from ’Mother of Satan’,” he said, using the nickname for TATP.

DARPA’s Mobile Force Protection (MFP) program focuses on the challenge of increasing concern to the U.S. military: countering the proliferation of small, unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs).

These systems, which include fixed, or rotary-wing aircraft and have numerous advantages such as portability, low cost, commercial availability, and easy upgradeability, pose a fast-evolving array of dangers for U.S. ground and maritime convoys.

Countering these threats in real time requires a range of technology advances to enable rapid detection, identification, tracking, and neutralization of adversary sUASs—all while mitigating collateral damage.

To expedite the development of counter-sUAS capabilities DARPA recently awarded Phase 1 agreements for MFP to three teams, Dynetics, Saab Defense and Security, and SRC.

The Ministry of Defense has extended their contract with Saab for the provision of Tactical Engagement Simulation as a fully managed service.

The three-year extension, with its managed service provision, is worth about $26 million, and enables Saab to deliver infrastructure, instrumentation and support personnel as a package.

Saab's Deployable Tactical Engagement Simulation system is used by the British Army to support overseas training exercises. It simulates the effects of direct and indirect fire and tracks individual troops and vehicles. It also collects data in real time for after-action review.

\"Since 2009, our technical and exercise training support staff have effectively been embedded within the British Army, supporting up to seven exercises per year,\" Åsa Thegstrom, head of Saab's Training & Simulation business unit, said in a press release. \" Saab sees this contract extension as recognition of the strong working relationship we have developed with the British Army and the MOD.\"