Raytheon Developing Technology To Counter Bacterial Weapons - Statement

US weapons manufacturer Raytheon is developing technology to identify and counter evasive bacterial threats as part of a new Pentagon program, the company said in a press release on Tuesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd April, 2019) US weapons manufacturer Raytheon is developing technology to identify and counter evasive bacterial threats as part of a new Pentagon program, the company said in a press release on Tuesday.

"Raytheon is developing biosurveillance technology that detects bacterial pathogens as soon as or before they threaten the military and citizens," the release said.

The "Friend or Foe" portable system, the release added, can provide intelligence to develop medical countermeasures against bacteria engineered to evade detection.

"To get a reliable risk assessment, we need to understand not just the bacteria's genetic makeup, or genotype, but how it functions - its phenotype," Raytheon principal investigator Aaron Adler said in the release. "We're looking at ways to subject the bacteria to a gauntlet of behavior screenings so we can determine its ability to cause disease."

The Friend or Foe program is being sponsored by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), according to the release.