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National Security

CBRN Defence

The capacity to protect the force and the population against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazards: detection, protection, decontamination and medical countermeasures. One of the capabilities of Joint Command, Projection & Sustainment.

International families
4092015 to 2024
Leading country
United States2.5× the next
All families
1,277home filings included
Over five years
Steady2020 to 2024 against the five before

Year by year

Patent families by country of origin and the year of the earliest filing, 2000 to 2025; 2025 is a part year, still filling in. International families are those for which protection was sought beyond one country.

Volume

International patent families in the capability, by the year of the earliest filing.

Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google

Share by country

Each country's share of the year's international families, in per cent: the capability's five largest countries of origin, 2015 to 2024, and the rest of the world.

Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google

Country leaderboard

International patent families, 2015 to 2024, by country of origin. Growth compares the latest five full years with the five before.

Ten largest

United States

Germany

South Korea

France

United Kingdom

China

Israel

Australia

Japan

Switzerland

133

53

37

28

26

21

17

12

11

11

2000 to 2025
1United States13332.5%1.0×
257
2Germany5313.0%0.7×
78
3South Korea379.0%1.2×
271
4France286.8%1.0×
45
5United Kingdom266.4%0.9×
34
6China215.1%1.3×
328
7Israel174.2%0.2×
21
8Australia122.9%1.4×
14
9Japan112.7%1.2×
92
10Switzerland112.7%1.8×
12
11Canada92.2%2.0×
13
12Spain61.5%5.0×
8
13Belgium61.5%5.0×
7
14Finland51.2%0.7×
6
15Türkiye51.2%4.0×
6
16Taiwan41.0%3.0×
13
17Sweden30.7%2.0×
3
18Russia30.7%0.5×
22
19Italy20.5%0.0×
7
20India20.5%1.0×
2
21Ireland20.5%0.0×
2
22Poland20.5%1.0×
8
23Austria10.2%0.0×
1
24Norway10.2%0.0×
2
25Hong Kong10.2%0.0×
1
26Czechia10.2%–
7
27Singapore00.0%–
1
28Brazil00.0%–
3

Applicants

The largest applicants by international patent families, 2015 to 2024: across the world, then within each of the five countries with the most families in CBRN Defence. Names are as held in the source and are not consolidated across subsidiaries.

Global

409 international families

RESCUE AIR SYSTEMS INC · United States

BLUECHER GMBH · Germany

TURIELLO ANTHONY J · United States

BETH EL ZIKHRON YAAQOV IND LTD · Israel

COMMISSARIAT ENERGIE ATOMIQUE · France

JONATHAN SCHNEIDER · Israel

17

15

13

10

10

10

United States

133 international families

RESCUE AIR SYSTEMS INC

TURIELLO ANTHONY J

HONEYWELL INT INC

BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE

DUPONT SAFETY & CONSTRUCTION INC

3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES CO

17

13

8

6

5

3

Germany

53 international families

BLUECHER GMBH

MEIKO MASCHINENBAU GMBH & CO

FOERSTER INST DR GMBH & CO KG

DRAEGER SAFETY AG & CO KGAA

BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND VERTRETEN DURCH DEN BUNDESMINISTER FUR WIRTSCH UND ENERGIE DIESER VERTRET

ALTINGER TESIMAX GMBH

15

7

5

4

3

2

South Korea

37 international families

AGENCY DEFENSE DEV

KIM JUNG GYU

E&F TECH CO LTD

KOREA INST SCI & TECH

SANCHEONG CO LTD

TL CO LTD

9

3

2

2

2

2

France

28 international families

COMMISSARIAT ENERGIE ATOMIQUE

CENTRE NAT RECH SCIENT

PAUL BOYE TECH

EUROPROTECT FRANCE SA

SAFRAN ELECTRONICS & DEFENSE

UTILIS

10

4

3

2

2

2

United Kingdom

26 international families

DYSON TECHNOLOGY LTD

SMITHS DETECTION WATFORD LTD

HEATHCOAT FABRICS LTD

NONWOVENN LTD

RESPIREX INT LTD

RESPIREX INTERNAT LTD

3

3

2

2

2

2

Similar capabilities

The nine capabilities that share the most international patent families with CBRN Defence, 2015 to 2024: the families counted in both as a share of those counted in either. Each card shows its five largest countries.

Governance & Integrity

Civil Protection & Emergency Management

2.2% shared · 322 families in both

United States

South Korea

China

Germany

Japan

3,773

1,821

1,687

1,350

1,052

National Security

Operational Sustainment & War Reserves

0.5% shared · 4 families in both

United States

Germany

France

United Kingdom

China

88

67

32

24

23

Critical Technology

Energetic Materials

0.4% shared · 4 families in both

United States

France

China

Germany

Japan

166

62

59

59

41

Strategic Infrastructure

Military Bases & Installations

0.3% shared · 6 families in both

United States

Germany

South Korea

United Kingdom

Japan

353

218

111

100

84

National Security

Defence Industrial Mobilisation

0.3% shared · 2 families in both

United States

Germany

France

China

United Kingdom

96

38

34

29

27

Strategic Infrastructure

Mining & Quarrying

0.3% shared · 12 families in both

China

United States

Germany

Australia

South Africa

1,624

664

351

271

185

Strategic Infrastructure

Nuclear Fuel Cycle & Radioactive Waste

0.2% shared · 6 families in both

United States

South Korea

France

Japan

China

589

294

275

227

207

Strategic Infrastructure

Manufacturing Facilities

0.2% shared · 5 families in both

United States

France

Germany

United Kingdom

Japan

892

274

266

193

97

Strategic Infrastructure

Emergency Services & Civil Protection

0.2% shared · 35 families in both

United States

Japan

South Korea

China

Germany

4,379

2,906

2,123

1,861

1,333

Crosswalk

How CBRN Defence is matched to the patent classifications. The entries below were chosen for it; each stands for itself and everything beneath it in the scheme, 9 Cooperative entries in all. A patent family counts when any of its codes, in either scheme and at any office, falls under one of them. Codes since retired are placed under the entries that replaced them.

EntryTitle in the schemeWhy it is chosenCPC codesIPC codesDocuments
A62D5/00Composition of materials for coverings or clothing affording protection against harmful chemical agentsMaterials for clothing that protects against chemical agents112,388
A62B17/006Protective clothing affording protection against heat or harmful chemical agents or for use at high altitudes against contamination from chemicals, toxic or hostile environments; ABC suitsProtective suits against chemical, biological and nuclear contamination1none2,632
A62D2101/02Chemical warfare substances, e.g. cholinesterase inhibitorsNeutralising chemical warfare agents1none1,956
A62B29/00Devices, e.g. installations, for rendering harmless or for keeping off harmful chemical agentsInstallations for neutralising or keeping off harmful chemical agents12640
A62B13/00Special devices for ventilating gasproof sheltersVentilation of gasproof shelters112,172
A62B23/04Filters for breathing-protection purposes for gasproof sheltersAir filters for gasproof shelters11716
A62B15/00Installations affording protection against poisonous or injurious substances, e.g. with separate breathing apparatusCollective protection installations against poisonous substances11855
G01N33/0057Warfare agents or explosivesDetecting chemical warfare agents or explosives1none1,978
B01D2259/4583Gas separation or purification devices adapted for specific applications for removing chemical, biological and nuclear warfare agentsAir purification removing chemical, biological and nuclear warfare agents1none537

CPC and IPC codes are the codes in use on patent documents, at any office, that fall under the entry. Documents is the larger of the two schemes' counts of documents carrying one of them. An entry with no IPC codes can be told apart only in the Cooperative scheme.

The Cooperative codes in use that count towards CBRN Defence: 9 codes on 12,282 documents. The full crosswalk is in the cpc-to-capability.csv download.

CodeTitleUnder entryHow placedDocuments
A62B17/006Protective clothing affording protection against heat or harmful chemical agents or for use at high altitudes against contamination from chemicals, toxic or hostile environments; ABC suitsA62B17/006In the scheme2,632
A62D5/00Composition of materials for coverings or clothing affording protection against harmful chemical agentsA62D5/00In the scheme2,245
G01N33/0057Warfare agents or explosivesG01N33/0057In the scheme1,978
A62D2101/02Chemical warfare substances, e.g. cholinesterase inhibitorsA62D2101/02In the scheme1,956
A62B13/00Special devices for ventilating gasproof sheltersA62B13/00In the scheme1,377
A62B15/00Installations affording protection against poisonous or injurious substances, e.g. with separate breathing apparatusA62B15/00In the scheme755
B01D2259/4583Gas separation or purification devices adapted for specific applications for removing chemical, biological and nuclear warfare agentsB01D2259/4583In the scheme537
A62B23/04Filters for breathing-protection purposes for gasproof sheltersA62B23/04In the scheme435
A62B29/00Devices, e.g. installations, for rendering harmless or for keeping off harmful chemical agentsA62B29/00In the scheme367
Match: Through its tools
The classification names the equipment or technology the capability draws on, not the capability. The count says how much is being invented for it, not how well it is done. Uses only the entries that name warfare agents or collective protection; general respirators (A62B18), radiation meters (G01T) and medical countermeasures are left out as overwhelmingly civilian, and four of the nine entries are Cooperative-scheme only. The crosswalk is a first pass that nobody has reviewed.

Other capabilities in Joint Command, Projection & Sustainment