N161-014 TITLE: Robust Electronics for Aircraft End Speed Indicator

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Electronics, Sensors

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMA-251 Program Office

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws.

OBJECTIVE: Develop technology that enables an aircraft end speed system to operate without failure in the shock, vibration and temperature extremes experienced in steam catapult spaces aboard aircraft carriers.

DESCRIPTION: Naval aviation depends on catapults to enable aircraft to operate safely on aircraft carriers. An important subsystem of the aircraft launch is the Digital End Speed Indicator (DESI). The DESI uses reluctance sensors mounted towards the forward end of the steam catapult to determine the launch speed of aircraft. This data is used as part of the performance information to indicate the health of the catapult. In addition, the DESI is used to keep track of shot count, date, time of launch, Capacity Selector Valve setting and sensor health.

The current DESI system electronics aboard carriers is experiencing numerous failures due to the shock, vibration, and temperature extremes of the Steam Catapult Central Charging Panel space where the system resides. The Navy needs development of technology to enable electronics to operate in this environment without failure.

The new system shall meet MIL-STD-167-1, Type I Vibration, MIL-STD-461 Class A4 EMI: CE101, CE102, CS101, RE101, RE102, RS101 & RS103, MIL-STD-810 Method 507 Procedure 1 Humidity & MIL-S-901 Grade A, Class I, Type A Shock, with continuous operation at an ambient operating temperature of 135 F.

PHASE I: Determine the feasibility of developing an Aircraft End Speed Indicator (AESI) system that will meet MIL-STD-167-1, Type I Vibration, MIL-STD-461 Class A4 EMI: CE101, CE102, CS101, RE101, RE102, RS101 & RS103, MIL-STD-810 Method 507 Procedure 1 Humidity & MIL-S-901 Grade A, Class I, Type A Shock, Ambient Operating Temperature of 135 F. Develop a conceptual design for electronics that can withstand the aforementioned specifications. Determine proof of concept through analysis and/or targeted lab demonstrations. Provide defendable estimates for cost, reliability and maintainability.

PHASE II: Develop and demonstrate a prototype Aircraft End Speed Indicator. Include health monitoring capability into the system. Initial testing of the system will be on the Catapult Workspace demonstrator progressing to full scale system testing at the NAVAIR Test facilities or similar test facilities. During a final demonstration, the system should provide system health monitoring and full-scale performance to verify that the system can meet environmental robustness, shipboard shock and vibration, and maintainability requirements per the military specifications listed in the Description and Phase I paragraph. A Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) of one (1) hour for any equipment below deck (03 Level) shall be maintained.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Manufacture and install, on a candidate USS Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier, six (6) AESI�s to function as shipboard evaluation prototypes (two (2) are spares) for a minimum of one (1) year, prior to back-fitting the entire fleet of carrier vessels and ground catapult installations. This system could substitute for any system such as undersea drilling operations or commercial space operations requiring a high accuracy, harsh environment, and health monitoring system. There is also commercialization potential with the foreign military sales (such as the French Navy).

REFERENCES:

1. NAVAIR 51-15ABE-2, Digital End Speed Indicator (DESI) System, Technical Manual

2. MIL-STD-167-1, Type I Vibration

3. MIL-STD-461 Class A4 EMI: CE101, CE102, CS101, RE101, RE102, RS101 & RS103

4. MIL-STD-810 Method 507 Procedure 1 Humidity

5. MIL-S-901 Grade A, Class I, Type A Shock

KEYWORDS: Maintainability; Health Monitoring; Environmental Robustness; End Speed; Performance; Accuracy

TPOC-1: 732-323-2825

TPOC-2: 732-323-1165

Questions may also be submitted through DoD SBIR/STTR SITIS website.

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

DoD Notice:   Between December 11, 2015 and January 10, 2016 you may talk directly with the Topic Authors (TPOC) to ask technical questions about the topics. Their contact information is listed above. For reasons of competitive fairness, direct communication between proposers and topic authors is not allowed starting January 11, 2016 , when DoD begins accepting proposals for this solicitation.

However, proposers may still submit written questions about solicitation topics through the DoD's SBIR/STTR Interactive Topic Information System (SITIS), in which the questioner and respondent remain anonymous and all questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing until the solicitation closes. All proposers are advised to monitor SITIS (16.1 Q&A) during the solicitation period for questions and answers, and other significant information, relevant to the SBIR 16.1 topic under which they are proposing.

If you have general questions about DoD SBIR program, please contact the DoD SBIR Help Desk at 800-348-0787 or [email protected]