SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- Engineering Support for External Aircraft Protection System
- Notice Date
- 6/9/2008
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Pax River, Building 441 21983 Bundy Road Unit 7, Patuxent River, MD, 20670, UNITED STATES
- ZIP Code
- 20670
- Solicitation Number
- N00421-08-R-0061
- Response Due
- 7/23/2008 12:00:00 PM
- Archive Date
- 8/7/2008
- Point of Contact
- Amber F Wood, Phone: 301.757.5907, Ryan M Mullins,, Phone: 301-757-8941
- E-Mail Address
-
amber.f.wood@navy.mil, ryan.mullins@navy.mil
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- **Due to emergent US Navy requirements and funding issues, the effort described below has been reduced from the original estimate of $14 million to $1.8 million. Accordingly, as described below, the scale of the effort has been reduced and the response time extended to 23 Jul 2008.** The Naval Air Warfare Center (Aircraft Division) Patuxent River, MD, seeks engineering support for the design, development, testing, and aircraft integration of an externally mounted airbag system for rotary platforms. The external airbag protection system is intended to greatly reduce the potential of occupant injury from abrupt decelerations associated with a crash impact. The system is also expected to greatly reduce airframe damage from impact whose predominant component is in the vertical direction. The system is expected to deploy automatically during an emergency situation in which a moderate to high energy crash impact is eminent. Without aid of any other vertical energy absorbing devices, the system is expected to reduce occupant injury in mishaps with a vertical impact velocity of 12 to 37 feet per second (fps). Below 12 fps the energy absorption inherent in the airframe design is expected to be sufficient to prevent occupant injury and serious airframe damage. Above 37 fps, the system, due to the severity of the event, will demonstrate a gradual decrease in its ability to prevent occupant exposure to abrupt decelerations. The system should also be capable of providing occupant and airframe protection in moderately energetic combined velocity and attitude conditions. The system is expected to remain operational during and after being subjected to a wide range of operating conditions. Examples include exposure to: high temperature, low temperature, aircraft induced vibration, mechanical shock, lightning strikes, rain, dust, salt fog, changes in atmospheric pressure, aircraft fluids, cleaning solutions, and magnetic fields. RTCA/Document-160 provides more detail on the operating conditions that the system will be expected to survive and function in without damage. Responses shall address the work required supported by a detailed work breakdown schedule (WBS) for system design, development, and integration onto the TH-57 / Bell 206B Jet Ranger III helicopter. The response shall include activities required to develop a preliminary design for the Control Unit that incorporates crash detection as well as crash prediction capabilities. It is expected that signals from external sensors will be used to predict whether or not a crash impact is imminent while the signals from internal sensor will be used to actuate safety devices in response to a crash. The response shall include an inflator performance specification that is consistent with performance requirements previously derived from computer generated modeling and simulation. The Inflator Performance Specification must be consistent with the System Performance Specification and provide a conceptual design that includes the inflator’s dimensions, estimated weight, construction, proposed propellant type (must select Navy approved propellants and initiators), and estimated pressure versus time output performance. The response shall include an Airbag Module Performance Specification that is consistent with performance requirements previously derived from computer generated modeling and simulation and the System Performance Specification. During this effort, the contractor is expected to propose airbag fabric, bag construction, vent concept as well as provide estimates for bag dimensions and overall weight. A system and component level development plan shall be tailored to include all safety of flight policies, procedures and protocols for installation of this system onto the Navy’s TH-57. This effort will require a wide range of laboratory experiments, component level tests, and integrated system level tests to demonstrate suitability of the system to progress to increasingly higher Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). At completion, the system is expected to have achieved a TRL of 6 (i.e. demonstration in a realistic environment). The work described in this synopsis is expected to require approximately 1year (12 months) to complete. During this period, the contractor is expected to provide monthly electronic status reports in addition to a final report and support regularly scheduled technical interchange meetings. Furthermore, the contractor is also expected to provide written reports detailing the outcome of experimental results and studies. It is anticipated that a sole source, Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) contract will be awarded to BAE Systems, 7822 South 46th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85044-5354. BAE Systems has already completed preliminary research and development of this system and the Government intends to negotiate solely with BAE to continue development. The estimated value of this requirement is $1.8 million. Responses to this synopsis should be sent via e-mail to Amber.F.Wood@navy.mil before 23 July 2008. Numbered Note 22 applies to this announcement.
- Web Link
-
FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=a95f13051c5b0ca8ff5ffaea43b1baec&tab=core&_cview=1)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 7822 South 46th Street, Phoenix, Arizona, 85044, United States
- Zip Code: 85044
- Zip Code: 85044
- Record
- SN01589477-W 20080611/080609220024-a95f13051c5b0ca8ff5ffaea43b1baec (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |