CHAPPIE: An Innovative Advancement in CBRN Defense

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soldier operating the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Quadrupedal Unmanned Ground Vehicle, named CHAPPIE
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Dominic Garcia, Installation Office of Emergency Management Section Chief, operates the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Quadrupedal Unmanned Ground Vehicle, named CHAPPIE, using a control interface modeled after a hand-held video game console, at Buckley Space Force Base, Colo., July 22, 2024. CHAPPIE is unique in that he is one of the only two QUGVs in the Defense Department to be repurposed to operate in the CBRN field of operations (U.S. Space Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jordan Thompson).

December 10, 2024 | Originally published by Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) on November 5, 2024

BUCKLEY SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) – Buckley Space Force Base is home to one of the Defense Department’s only two chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicles.

“You spend enough time around him and start to forget he’s a QUGV,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Dominic Garcia, Installation Office of Emergency Management Section Chief. Garcia refers to this innovative QUGV, affectionately known as CHAPPIE, representing a significant technological advancement in CBRN defense.

CHAPPIE, one of the only two QUGVs in the DoD repurposed for CBRN field operations, stands out with its extensive list of capabilities and customizations. These include remote CBRN sensing capabilities using our current inventory of detectors, which distinguishes it from other systems and makes it a significant technological advancement in CBRN defense.

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