A -- ADVANCED SUPERSONIC PLATFORM (ASP) Special Notice: RFI 00-18. DUE: 14 April 2000. POC: Dr. Richard W. Wlezien, DARPA/TTO, FAX: (703) 696-8401. This announcement is for information and planning purposes, only. It does not constitute a BAA, IFB, or RFP, or solicitation for proposals of any kind. Nothing in this announcement shall be construed as a commitment by the United States Government. All submissions in response to this announcement shall be held in strictest confidence, and shall be marked for Government use, only. DESCRIPTION: DARPA is pursuing the development of a new initiative that will culminate in a flight demonstration of a highly efficient, long-range supersonic aircraft. This vehicle will incorporate a variety of new and evolving technologies, with special emphasis on sonic boom and supersonic noise mitigation. DARPA envisions the initiation of two parallel activities: 1) advanced platform mission analysis, systems studies, and flight demonstration, and 2) advanced technology development and maturation. The goal of the program is to demonstrate a vehicle with substantially increased range and performance, low overall operational cost, and capability for supersonic flight over land. Thus, the incremental application of new technologies, or the integration of existing technologies, will be insufficient to meet overall program goals. A key characteristic of this program is the development and integration of an array of new and evolving technologies. The success of the overall program is predicated on successful interdependence between advanced technology development and systems demonstrations. DARPA anticipates that the program will be based on the concurrent development of a flight test article and the maturation and integration of selected high-payoff technologies. Military requirements for high-speed, long-range, deep penetration reconnaissance are the primary application. However, DARPA anticipates that the technologies so developed will be dual-use in nature; the flight vehicle demonstration could be a precursor to small civil supersonic transport aircraft. This RFI solicits the identification of appropriate technologies and technical capabilities for the development of a program plan along two parallel tracks. The systems track will be directed to the award of contracts for mission and systems studies, and the design and development of a limited life, advanced supersonic flight test platform. The technology track will be directed towards concurrent development of a suite of high risk/high payoff enabling technologies in direct support of flight vehicle development. Any successful approach must go well beyond off-the-shelf technology to achieve a viable, high performance system. While technologies of interest are diverse, and not limited to those noted in this RFI, technologies of particular importance include direct mitigation of sonic boom by airframe shaping, plasmas and adaptive flow control and technologies that indirectly decrease sonic boom amplitude through weight reduction and high altitude operation. Specific examples include supersonic laminar flow control, high bypass supersonic cruise engines, and advanced materials, including foamed metallic structures and monolithic ceramics for engines. Supersonic laminar flow over substantial percentages of the aircraft surface without the complexity of active suction are particularly attractive for range augmentation and weight reduction, provided that systems can be made robust through other techniques, such as enhanced heat transfer and shaping. Similarly, non-conventional geometry, such as oblique wing/bodies or oblique wing configurations, has the potential for large mission benefits. Highly integrated configurations with innovative, integrated propulsion systems show significant potential. These may include additional system complexity offsets by enhanced component efficiencies, as in complex, three-dimensional supersonic inlets. The implementation of advanced materials and fabrication techniques for lightweight, integrally stiffened structures is of interest. Innovative sonicboom alleviation techniques, and exhaust noise mitigation without large system penalties, should also be considered. Plasmas and ionized flows for shock reduction, and the overall system benefit of such approaches might also be considered. Application of micro adaptive flow control to airframe, inlet, exhaust, and to achieve overall system performance augmentation is encouraged. Advanced engine technologies that provide a substantial increase in engine thrust-to-weight ratio including aspirated compressors and ceramic engine components show the potential for large overall benefits. Additionally, DARPA is particularly interested in gaining insight into the available supersonic aircraft design options, and the necessary technology integration requirements for efficient performance and operation for this class of supersonic cruise aircraft. In response to this RFI, white-paper-like submissions are sufficient. These submissions should address the origins of the technology and/or capability; an indication of contributing or concurrent work, and/or the progress to date; the potential for this technology in this or other selected applications; and the rationale for DARPA support for this program. Two original hard copies of submissions, printed on 8 1/2'' x 11'' pages, 12-point "Times" font, one staple in the upper left-hand corner (no other binding). Submissions sent by FAX or e-mail will be destroyed on receipt. Sources submitting information will not be reimbursed by the Government for any expenses incurred. Submissions should be sent or delivered to Dr. Richard W. Wlezien, DARPA/TTO, ATTN: RFI No. 00-18, 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. These submissions should be sent or delivered in time to be received by Dr. Wlezien not later than 4:00 PM local time on 14 April 2000. Please note that submissions must be non-proprietary and unclassified. For additional information, interested parties should contact Dr. Wlezien at rwlezien@darpa.mil, or Dr. Wlezien's support contractor, Mr. Jack Suddreth of SRS Technologies at jack.suddreth@wg.srs.com. Posted 03/17/00 (W-SN435528).

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