Enhanced Armoured CBRN Monitoring: How the X-System Delivers Real-Time Detection

A sudden chemical release could be a targeted attack or an industrial accident in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whether it’s chlorine drifting from a damaged factory or a weaponised agent unleashed deliberately, the danger is the same – deadly and immediate. Without rapid detection and protection, a mission can turn into a casualty event in minutes.

The X-System from Bertin Environics is a fully integrated CBRN monitoring suite – purpose-built for armoured platforms. Modular, scalable, and field-proven, the X-System provides continuous, automatic detection of Chemical Warfare Agents (CWA) and Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TIC) outside the vehicle, and gamma radiation threats both outside and inside the crew compartment.

This dual-layer protection ensures that crews are warned instantly of any hazardous release – whether it’s a deliberate chemical attack, an industrial accident in the operational area, or a radiological threat.

The X-System is not just a standalone solution. Multiple vehicles equipped with the system can be linked to form a mobile CBRN real-time monitoring and early-warning network. This networked capability provides commanders with a live, shared CBRN situational picture across the entire battlefield, enabling faster decisions and improved troop safety.

The counterattack had been planned for hours. Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV), strengthened by Main Battle Tanks (MBT), lined up to push forward against a well-entrenched enemy. Intelligence confirmed the defenders had dug in hard, with a dense anti-tank minefield stretched across their front to blunt any direct assault.

Then it happened. On the enemy’s right flank, a pale cloud began to rise and drift across the open terrain. No one could say for sure if it was a deliberate chemical release or an industrial accident at the worst possible moment, but its timing and position were enough to raise every suspicion. The colour, the movement in the wind – it all pointed toward a Toxic Industrial Chemical, possibly chlorine.

As the formation advanced, one IFV’s X-System alarm cut through the engine noise. Within seconds, the crew sealed hatches, engaged overpressure systems, and confirmed the threat on their display: toxic chemical detected in the outside atmosphere.

Instantly, detection data was transmitted through the Battle Management System (BMS), updating every vehicle in the formation. On digital maps across the network, a red hazard zone appeared and expanded as the cloud drifted. Crews adjusted routes, commanders updated orders, and the formation shifted to bypass the contaminated area.

No crew is caught off guard. Hatches are sealed, filters hum, and every vehicle swings wide of the drifting cloud. The tanks keep their momentum, engines roaring as they press the attack. It all begins with a single detection — one X-System alert that shields the entire formation in real time. Across the network, the hazard zone flashes on every screen, commanders adjust on the fly, and the counterattack drives forward.

The counterattack is underway. One IFV’s X-System detects the chemical threat instantly, alerting its crew and sharing real-time data via the Battle Management System. Whether it is a deliberate release or an industrial leak hardly matters — it is in exactly the wrong place at exactly the wrong time. Every crew knows that a Toxic Industrial Chemical, possibly chlorine, can cripple the advance in minutes.

With every IFV and MBT equipped with X-Systems, multiple detections pinpoint the cloud’s exact location and spread, displayed live on all vehicle screens. Within seconds, the entire formation sees the cloud’s position and the contaminated area mapped in real time on their displays. Commanders watch the hazard zone update live on the BMS, steering the formation through safe lanes while keeping the attack coordinated.

The battle pushed forward. Enemy tanks were engaged and destroyed one by one. The contaminated flank was bypassed, the formation stayed intact, and the mission objective was achieved.

Without the X-System, the chemical cloud could have stalled the assault or caused casualties that broke the attack’s momentum. Instead, real-time CBRN awareness turned a potential disaster into a decisive victory.

Download the Armoured CBRN Monitoring Application Note and gain access to exclusive content on X-System when used in armoured military vehicles.