Award Data

A new optics technology platform will be developed that reduces the cost of dual-band short-wave infrared (SWIR) and mid-wave infrared (MWIR) optics for high-performance wide field of view (WFOV) imaging. The use of infrared optics has been increasingly adopted by the military, but the cost of wideband infrared optical systems remains a challenge. This study proposes to increase the available DOF ...

The Navy is developing a new type of UAS for small-deck ships that can operate from these platforms but that provide the endurance and range of a conventional fixed-wing UAS. These UASs are tail-sitting and take off and land vertically (VTOL) while flying horizontally. The Navy is seeking propulsion systems for these UASs that have high specific power, but also have reasonable efficiency (SFC). Th ...

Current VTOL UASs in development, and concepts being pursued by both commercial and military operators, require high-power delivery on takeoff and landing segments. This duty can be served with a special purpose ultra-lightweight gas turbine-alternator. For this short duty cycle, the relaxed SFC requirement opens opportunities for weight reduction strategies. This FOA’s specification for elect ...

The Navy utilizes small, crewed watercraft, e.g., the Special Operations Craft – Ravine, for a range of missions in the littoral zone. These watercrafts, while designed for high-speed operation, also require low-speed stealth operation to successfully complete all types of mission objectives. However, the existing internal combustions engines and propulsion systems currently used on these vessel ...

??????? The proposed effort aims to develop a technology platform that can deposit non-toxic infrared optical materials on existing substrates to refurbish MWIR and LWIR optical components. The challenge lies in matching the refractive index, dispersion, and partial-dispersion properties of the existing lens or optical substrate, which requires precise deposition of custom optical feedstock compos ...

Sea mines are a persistent threat to naval operations. Mines are inexpensive to fabricate and easy to deploy, making them a favorite tool of our adversaries. The Navy is actively developing new countermine technologies to defeat this threat more quickly and efficiently than ever before. However, countermining operations still require manual battle damage assessment (BDA) to verify target neutraliz ...

This project aims to develop additively manufactured gradient index (GRIN) lenses for wideband use in naval communications, radar, or electronic surveillance. The lenses will be made using nanocomposite materials, and direct print multi-materials additive manufacturing. The goal is to achieve at least a 10-to-1 bandwidth, with a wideband 2-40 GHz operation. The lenses will be thin and conformal wi ...

Commercial vacuum melting grew substantially in popularity in the 1950s in the demand for superalloys. The techniques remain popular in all high-performance metal due to their high level of control over composition, cleanliness, and homogeneity. The US Navy commonly uses Alloy 53 (AMS 6308) in safety critical applications such as helicopter rotors which is produced using a double vacuum melt VIM ( ...

Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes, such as laser powder bed fusion, have enabled the construction of heat exchangers with custom form factors and unique internal geometries. Topology optimization (TO) takes advantage of these unique geometries to create flow structures that have increased heat transfer effectiveness and reduced pressure drop compared to standard heat exchanger channels. The Na ...

U.S. Navy ships use systems employing superconductors for power distribution and other applications, and cryocoolers maintain the cryogenic temperatures required for superconductor operation. When cryocooler electrical power is lost or interrupted for more than a brief period (such as during power source transfer, maintenance, or unplanned events), these systems begin warming to temperatures at wh ...