Engineering Technology, Incorporated (ETI) proposes the continuing development of a man-portable visual smoke generator for Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT), Law Enforcement Applications (riot control, hostage rescue, etc.), and Physical Security Intrusion Delay applications. The Phase I prototype demonstrated a highly opaque visual obscuring aerosol, effective in the visible and near-IR wavelengths, but transparent at longer IR wavelengths to allow the employment of IR/thermal viewers. The system forms the obscurant cloud using pressurized gas combined with a solid particle visible obscurant, titanium dioxide, TiO2. The smoke output of the system is sufficient to rapidly obscure the visions of persons in a large enclosed space, commercial aircraft, or urban city terrain. Benefits of the system include low cost, utilization of a non-toxic, high extinction coefficient fill material; use of a refillable production canister, high efficiency dissemination of near-monodisperse smoke particles; and extremely simple operation. Representatives from the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and the Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) Advanced Concepts Technology Demonstration (ACTD) Program Office have expressed interest in the tactical capabilities demonstrated in the Phase I prototype. The primary aspects of the Phase II program focus on the definition of operational tactics for the use of this smoke generator and toxicological and safety considerations associated with its use.
