DARPA”s goal is to develop harsh-environment sensors and instrumentation rugged enough to stand up to the heat, shock, and vibration of hypersonic flight.
U.S. military researchers are asking industry to develop flight-control instruments and sensors able to withstand the extreme heat, shock, and vibration of hypersonic missiles and aircraft.
Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., issued a solicitation on Monday (HR001119S0035-01) for the Extreme Environment Sensors project.
The goal is to develop and validate the performance of robust distributed instrumentation in air-platform extreme environments of combined thermal, mechanical, and acoustic loading. Future hypersonic missiles will fly at several times the speed of sound — often in excess of Mach 5.
Future turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) hypersonic missiles and aircraft will fly in conditions that subject their propulsion systems to harsh environments not previously seen by reusable aircraft, DARPA researchers explain.
Improvements in advanced instrumentation is necessary for control systems in hypersonic and other high-speed systems. This will require extensive ground testing, as well as advanced instrumentation to monitor test vehicles.
Flight control test instruments must be rugged enough to survive repeated testing and simulation that involves aerodynamics, boundary layer transition, thermal protection system performance, ablative properties, material effects, and scramjet engine operation.
DARPA researchers are asking industry to develop prototype distributed instrumentation systems, including sensor, wiring, and signal processor, to advance testing capabilities that could lead to next-generation hypersonic aircraft and missiles.
Related Solicitations
The DARPA Small Business Programs Office (SBPO) has released two SBIR/STTR Opportunities (SBOs).
FedBizOps Link: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
Solicitation Number: HR001119S0035
Agency: Other Defense Agencies
Office: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
The solicitation includes opportunities on:
Extreme Environment Sensors
Medical Implants from Molecular Assembly
Robust Transceiver Modules for Femtosecond-Level, Free-Space Optical Time and Frequency Transfer to Mobile Platforms
Side Channel Attack Testbench Emulator (SCATE)
CHAracterization of Intrinsic Novelty (CHAIN)
FedBizOps Link: SBIR/STTR Opportunity: Extreme Environment Sensors
Solicitation Number: HR001119S0035-01
Agency: Other Defense Agencies
Office: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Submission Open Date: 8 Jul 2019
Submission Close Date: 6 Aug 2019