CTMA organized on 19 June 2018 an international exercise, Bio-garden, co-funded by the the H2020 Project eNOTICE and the European Space Agency Project B-LiFE.

The objective of the Bio-garden exercise was to raise the level of preparedness of first responders in case of a Biological incident and to outline the interoperability and the national and international multidisciplinary civilian-military team cooperation in the field of Chemical Biological Radiological & Nuclear (CBRN) preparedness and response. Organizing a Biological threat exercise in Belgium is unprecedented. Traditionally the scenario of such exercise addresses Chemical or Radiological threats

The Federal Crisis Center and its new CBRN Threat Coordination Center, the Federal Service of Public Health, the Federal Scientific and Technical Police, the Civil Protection, a military sampling team, two mobile laboratories - the Biological Light Fieldable Laboratory for Emergencies (B-LiFE) and the Mobile Biology Laboratory Complex (MBLC) of the Hungarian Defence played the exercise scenario.

All actors followed secure procedures ranging from the investigation of a clandestine laboratory to the identification of biological pathogens on the scene.

All practitioners received and exchanged audio and video information in real time using new communication technologies combining terrestrial (WiFi, LTE and TETRA) and satellite telecommunication allowing for efficient field data sharing and processing using crisis management tools. B-LiFE project partners and invited SME’s provided the equipment.

The Belgian Ministers of the Interior, Public Health and Defence, and the Sir Julian King, European Commissioner for Security Union in charge of the fight against terrorism and crime and a large international audience of more than 200 observers from 70 countries of 3 continents attended the exercise.