The Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) wants responses no later than Oct. 22 for a logistics variant of hybrid airship/airship designs that can augment existing theater transportation delivery capabilities while minimizing transportation risks and cost.
The government has “particular and urgent interest” in technologies pertaining to and innovative solutions for Logistics Lift Airship design, according to the special notice on FedBizOps.gov.
The Logistics Lift Airship technologies development is urgently needed to improve the Defense Department’s ability to transport personnel, supplies, equipment and other materials to increasingly numerous and dispersed locations around the world to respond to any crisis from Overseas Contingency Operations to humanitarian assistance/disaster relief challenges and emerging joint service operational concepts.
SMDC is particularly interested in propulsion systems, lightweight high-strength airship materials, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities, and airship landing systems for ground winds up to 80 knots.
In addition, the command is interested in innovative methods for cargo handling including a roll-on roll-off and winching system cargo bay for use in austere and unimproved locations and onboard manned flight control and navigation systems.
Hybrid airship/airships designs must be able to transport greater than or equal to 40,000 pounds of flexible payload such as vehicles, pallets, litters, and personnel, at altitudes greater than or equal to 10,000 feet mean sea level (MSL) with a cruise speed greater than or equal to 80 knots and have a range of at least 1,000 nautical miles.
The government wants improved logistics lift airship technology performance and reliability. The White Papers should address technical and scientific development in the technology area of space augmentation under high Altitude Platforms and Power Systems and Propulsion (paragraphs 4.g. (1) and 4.g. (3) of the BAA) as they apply to a Logistics Lift Airship.
The White Papers should describe architectures to help the government assess the technology, and also identify critical technologies needing further development to enable a Logistics Lift Airship to meet the general requirements.
The government may request full proposals for promising concepts that may result in the award of multiple cost-plus fixed-fee contracts with a base period value of approximately $150,000 and a contract value–base and all options–of up to $49 million.
The maximum Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for any effort to be performed under a contract awarded pursuant to the BAA is TRL Level 6.