IRD Strategic Plan Prepares DHS for Future Homeland Security Challenges
DHS released the first-ever department-wide Innovation, Research and Development (IRD) Strategic Plan, articulating key investment goals over the next seven fiscal years.
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DHS released the first-ever department-wide Innovation, Research and Development (IRD) Strategic Plan, articulating key investment goals over the next seven fiscal years.
The Science and Technology Directorate is evaluating the Deployable Expedient Traffic Entry Regulator (DETER) barrier in realistic environments to identify operational recommendations and hardware adjustments to optimize use for DHS components. DETER is an innovative and versatile vehicle barrier that provides fast protection in multiple scenarios, making it a valuable system to be used in multi-domain operations.
Our May campaign to honor first responders and highlight related R&D continues with updates on S&T’s role at the World Fire Congress.
The Science and Technology Directorate’s National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) partnered with the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of open-circuit self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs), a life-saving piece of personal protective equipment and a substantial financial investment for fire departments nationwide. Recent technological advancements in SCBAs promise to enhance safety, communication, situational awareness, and the overall mission effectiveness of fire response teams. NUSTL’s evaluation involved rigorous testing of SCBAs available in the current marketplace to analyze their capabilities, including new electronic safety features that facilitate information transmission between SCBAs and incident command.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate works closely with the nation’s emergency response community to identify and prioritize mission capability gaps, and to facilitate the rapid development of critical solutions to address responders’ everyday technology needs. As these new technologies near completion, the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) conducts an operational field assessment (OFA) to evaluate the prototype's capabilities and operational suitability. This report documents the results of an OFA of C-THRU, a real-time visualization system intended to provide firefighters with technology that can minimize the disorientation associated with emergency response. It offers a suite of imaging, navigation, and visual communication applications via the helmet-mounted C-THRU Navigator and corresponding Visual Command platform.
The first-of-its-kind DHS Innovation, Research and Development Strategic Plan identifies ways to coordinate IRD investments to maximize impacts across our components and missions. The plan brings focus to our IRD portfolios by highlighting eight key, cross-cutting strategic priority research areas (SPRAs) that the Department will foster over the next seven fiscal years. These SPRAs will improve internal DHS collaboration, guide the resource allocation plan (RAP) development as part of the planning, programming, budgeting, and execution (PPBE) cycle for FY 2026-2030 and beyond, and serve as a demand signal to industry, interagency, academic, and international communities on future partnerships and collaborations.
The Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is premiering a trio of new resource guides for our partners in law enforcement, the fire and emergency medical services, and emergency management.
DHS S&T has released a new market survey report to help emergency responders identify non-detonable training aids for explosive detection canines.
This Compliance Assessment Bulletin identifies several basic personnel, facility and test tool requirements for becoming a DHS-recognized laboratory for P25 CAP testing.
This Compliance Assessment Bulletin identifies accreditation and recognition requirements for becoming a DHS-recognized laboratory for P25 CAP testing.