101 West Eglin Blvd, Ste 337, Eglin AFB FL, (904) 882-4294, Ext 3207

A -- CAPTIVE DISPENSER TECHNOLOGY SOL MNK 96-022 POC Beverly Shaffer at (904) 882-4294, Ext 3207. CAPTIVE DISPENSER TECHNOLOGY. The United States Air Force's Wright Laboratory Armament Directorate Weapon Flight Mechanics Division (WL/MNAV) requests information regarding past and present conceptual engineering studies / analyses and designs regarding captive dispenser technology. WL/MNAV specifically requests information on system designs which could or will accommodate a new family of small smart munitions currently under development at Eglin AFB. These captive dispenser systems are envisioned to allow dispense of small guided munitions from internal weapons bays of both current Air Force inventory fighters and bombers. The envisioned system will serve as a shipping container as well as dispenser. These dispense systems are to provide for maximum loadout, proper powering and initialization simultaneously of some subset of these loadouts. The Government seeks information on key technical issues facing such designs, including power conditioning, weapons bay environment / flowfield issues, ejection system requirements, and munitions targeting /retargeting. Information is sought on weapons bay environments, candidate ejection system technology, mission planning implications, and other relevant technologies. Drawing packages, wind tunnel test data, bay environment reports, static ejection tests, and other such studies and reports from past / ongoing Government sponsored programs and Independent Research and Development (IR&D) programs are requested. WL/MNAV anticipates the award (4QFY 97) of a competitive advanced development multi-year contract for the development of such a system to provide an integral captive dispenser system for both internal and external carriage with the specific objective of accommodating small smart munitions. This potential contract effort noted above will focus upon the following requirements. These requirements are included here only to serve as a guide to the type of information sought. TRADE STUDIES. The contracted effort is anticipated to conduct trade studies to show the relative cost/kill effectiveness of the dispenser concept. The ground mobile targets shall be used to evaluate relative cost/kill for the Low Cost Autonomous Attack Submunition (LOCAAS), Combined Effects Bomblet (CEB) and Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW). The hard fixed targets shall be used to compare the relative cost/kill of the Small Smart Bomb (SSB) and BLU-109. Aircraft attrition shall be addressed. DESIGN. The design is anticipated to be governed by the following requirements: Structural. The dispenser shall be designed to survive the captive flight environment of the following aircraft, F-16, F-15, F-22, F-117, JAST, B-1 and B-2. The design is anticipated to be capable of withstanding the design limit loads without deformation which affects its operation or the accomplishment of the required tests. Materials. The design is intended to make maximum use of composite materials where feasible. Design Safety Factors. The design should use a yield safety factor of 1.15 times the design limit loads and an ultimate safety factor of 1.50 times the design limit loads for structural members. The design should insure that all pressure retaining components of the dispenser are designed to a proof pressure of 1.5 and a burst pressure of 2.5 times the maximum design operating pressure of the system. Vibration. The dispenser shall withstand the vibrational tests of MIL-T-7743E paragraph 4.6, Procedure II. There shall be no permanent deformation nor shall performance be degraded as a result of these tests. Temperature. The dispenser shall operate from minus 65(F to plus 160(F without degradation of performance. Weapons Compatibility. The dispenser shall be physically, functionally (hardware and software) and electrically compatible with the powered and unpowered variants of the LOCAAS and SSB weapons. These weapons are essentially 20 and 30 inches long, 50 and 80 lb in weight for the unpowered and powered LOCAAS variants respectively, and 72 inches long and 250 lb in weight for the SSB. The dispenser is anticipated to be designed to carry and release the maximum LOCAAS and SSB weapons possible. Aircraft Compatibility. The dispenser shall be physically, functionally (hardware and software), and electrically compatible with JAST, F-22, F-117, B-1 and B-2 internal bay carriage and release and F-15 and F-16 external pylon carriage and release. The overall dimensions of the dispenser shall be equal to or less than 150 inches long, 20.6 inches high and 15 inches wide. Foreign Object Damage (FOD) Considerations. The dispenser shall be designed to permit ''FOD-less'' carriage and release of the required weapons. The dispenser shall not eject lanyards, foam positioning fittings or anything that could cause foreign object damage to any part of any launch aircraft. MIL-STD-1760 Interface. The dispenser shall provide the equivalent of a Class I aircraft/stores electrical interface for each weapon in accordance with paragraph 5.1.2 of MIL-STD-1760B. Safe Separation. The dispenser shall provide safe separation (no recontact of aircraft) of the required weapons from the required aircraft. Weight. The dispenser should be designed to minimum weight consistent with meeting the requirements identified in this design description. Drag. The dispenser shall be designed to have minimum drag consistent with external carriage. Strongback. The strongback of the dispenser shall be compatible with 30 inch lug spacing. Triaxial Restraint. The dispenser shall provide triaxial restraint for the required weapons. Dispenser Closure. The dispenser shall provide for ejection door or vertical restraint closure after weapon launch. Ejection Velocity. The dispenser shall provide sufficient ejection velocity to permit safe separation of required weapons. Ejection Angular Rates. The dispenser shall provide adequate angular rates (pitch, yaw, roll) to permit safe separation. Jettison. The dispenser shall be capable of jettison from the required aircraft. Aero Acoustic Sound Pressure Levels. The dispenser shall be capable of operation at aero acoustic sound pressure levels of 170 decibels without degradation of performance. Electric Power. The dispenser shall use a 28 Volt Direct Current (VDC) or 115 Volt Alternating Current (VAC), 3 Phase, 400 cycle electrical system. Munitions Initialization and Powering / BIT. The dispenser is anticipated to be capable of providing the multiplexing of flight software / mission data (including inertial system alignment /GPS initialization to some multiple subset of the munitions carried within. This will include cueing each weapon as to its own orientation / offset created by its carriage position within the dispenser. The dispenser should also possess the capability to power some multiple subset of the munition loadout simultaneously and provide the capacity for BIT to each munition. Drag/Stabilization Device. The dispenser shall have a drag/stabilization to permit safe separation of the dispenser from the required aircraft. TESTING. The anticipated dispenser design and test effort will involve all necessary ground tests to support flight testing and demonstration of the dispenser concept. As a minimum, this will include safe separation, fin and wing deployment, and controlled flyout of LOCAAS and SSB weapons. A minimum of two weapons released per test for both LOCAAS and SSB tests with a minimum of three such flight tests for both munitions is anticipated for the program. Prospective respondents are invited to contact Mr. Ken Edwards, WL/MNAV, phone number (904) 882-8876 ext. 3387. (0047)

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