Ericsson contributed to a demonstration this week in which the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) demonstrated technology for responding to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents (CBRN).

The scenario for the demonstration was a railway accident in which a freight train carrying industrial chemicals contaminates its surroundings. The demo shows how to handle the crisis, warn the community, and save lives.

The demo illustrated technology that can be used for improving at all tactical levels the Swedish Armed Forces command and control of the combat support function CBRN defense. Magnus Petersson, project manager for the CBRN defense Command and Control (C2) system demonstrator at FMV, says: "Telecoms play an important role in CBRN defense activities; the most obvious is in reporting CBRN events, and predicting and warning about associated hazards. Telecoms are also useful in sensor networks where data is gathered, analyzed and transmitted to other systems."

With its long experience in national security and public safety, and its portfolio of communication and information sharing solutions, Ericsson is a natural partner for emergency services, first responders, defense, and law enforcement agencies.

Petersson says: "We chose Ericsson because of its significant experience in LedsystT (a network-based defense project led by FMV). And we expect to benefit from Ericsson's engagement in national and international projects within the national security public safety area.

"The CBRN defense C2 demonstrator is a rather complex system, and Ericsson has successfully both developed systems and integrated them with other systems from the other project participants."

David Täng, Ericsson's project manager at the demo, says: "The CBRN defense demo with FMV also showed the capabilities and benefits of using commercial technology. Ericsson delivered a communication platform and a model that function as an enabler for interoperability and information sharing among the stakeholders.

The demo showed how experts built a real-time situation picture from the incident based on data such as intelligence, maps, databases, and positions. With this data, national security and public safety users can act upon the improved awareness through command and control. During the demo Ericsson also verified the usefulness of wireless videoconferencing through its commercial ViPr product."

Täng says: "This CBRN defense demo serves as a proof point that the national security and public safety community can leverage commercial technologies and open standards for improved operational capabilities and efficiency."