Description:
OBJECTIVE: Design, develop and demonstrate concepts for a material to be dispersed from an aircraft that acts as an obscurant in the ultraviolet (UV) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this effort is to design, develop and demonstrate a UV obscuring material that may be dispersed from an aircraft. One concept might include a device that very rapidly generates an extended, dense cloud of material that absorbs in the UV region. Other concepts might include, but are not limited to, quantum dots or metamaterials that absorb in the UV and emit in the mid-IR. Final prototypes should be compatible with existing Navy aircraft expendable dispensing systems. PHASE I: Identify suitable conceptual materials and demonstrate their ability to obscure in the UV in a laboratory setting. Characterize other attributes of the material such as emission/absorption in other regions of the spectrum (IR, visible) and safety hazards (flammability, toxicity, environmental impact, etc.) Develop plans for integration of material into hardware compatible with the AN/ALE Countermeasure Dispensing System using the MX-12023 magazine for use on Navy aircraft. In Phase I option, downselect most promising candidates for scale-up to perform a functional demonstration. PHASE II: Develop prototype devices in Navy hardware. Provide prototype devices to Navy for evaluation in a windstream environment. Final deliverable will be prototype devices for flight effectiveness testing. PHASE III: Develop full-scale manufacturing process for UV obscurant devices. Provide units to the Navy for qualification testing. PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: The contractor will pursue commercialization of the various components developed for potential commercial uses in homeland defense applications.
