Advancing the Austrian Armed Forces' CBRN Incident Management with Project ABC-MAUS

The ability to react timely to threats – intentional or inadvertent – caused by releases of hazardous material or the fallout of nuclear detonations is a key capability of an army when engaged either in modern warfare or in joint disaster-management with civilian organizations. The availability of up-to-date data and the highest possible accuracy of hazard forecasts are key in determining the most appropriate response. This article introduces the approach and the first results of the Austrian national research project ABC-MAUS, which aims to take the CBRN incident management capabilities of the Austrian Armed Forces to the next level by linking the CBRN information system ABC-IS with sensor networks and using state-of-the-art atmospheric dispersion models for hazard prediction and locating the source of unobserved incidents.