The Department of Defense (DoD) owns and operates major industrial facilities that manufacture and repair military equipment, weaponry, and munitions. SERDP and ESTCP focus on technological enhancements that extend the service life of weapons systems and platforms vital to the warfighter by significantly reducing energy use, waste, time, and costs.
Defense assets are made from and depend on the availability of commodity chemicals and materials. SERDP and ESTCP develop novel materials that strengthen our chemical and material resilience, reduce costs, and increase safety and efficiency of operations. Our investments optimize manufacturing, maintenance, operation, and decommission activities while reducing use of chemicals of concern.
SERDP and ESTCP support the DoD's transition to PFAS-free firefighting foams by developing innovative formulations, testing commercial formulations against military specifications, evaluating the ecotoxicity of new formulations, and assessing cleaning methodologies for aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) trucks that previously contained PFAS-based formulations.
Corrosion costs the DoD billions of dollars annually and heavily impacts the availability of defense assets to carry out their missions. SERDP and ESTCP are developing and demonstrating the science, tools, and techniques needed to meet critical defense performance criteria while also reducing the impact on the environment and protecting the health of DoD workers and military personnel.
The production of energetic materials and munitions utilizes hazardous materials and produces significant quantities of waste material and air or range emissions during testing and training. SERDP and ESTCP are investing in the development and demonstration of alternative materials and synthesis processes to reduce the environmental and occupational safety and health impacts of energetic materials and munitions while maintaining critical performance criteria.
