A -- HELICOPTER ACTIVE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY (HACT) PARTIAL AUTHORITY AUGMENTED FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM

Notice Date

January 3, 2001

Contracting Office

Aviation Applied Technology Directorate, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Attn: AMSAM-RD-AA-C, Building 401, Lee Blvd, Room 117, Fort Eustis, VA 23604-5577

ZIP Code

23604-5577

Solicitation Number

N/A

Response Due

February 2, 2001

Point of Contact

Laurie Pierce, Contract Specialist, (757) 878-3306, lpierce@aatd.eustis.army.mil

E-Mail Address

lpierce@aatd.eustis.army.mil (lpierce@aatd.eustis.army.mil)

Description

The U. S. Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) has ongoing projects that are developing Helicopter Active Control Technology (HACT) and new ideas to support the Vehicle Management System (VMS) paradigm. AATD is planning projects which will attempt to adapt these new technologies to extend the performance, modernize, and reduce Operation and Support (O&S) cost of the Army's existing rotorcraft fleet. The purpose of this announcement is to notify industry of AATD's future plan to release a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) and request industry feedback prior to release. The anticipated BAA will invite VMS developers to enter an agreement with the Government and participate as equal team members with the Principle Members of the Rotorcraft Industry Technical Association, Inc. (RITA) to develop and demonstrate an open architecture VMS for military rotorcraft. The focus of the effort will be on improving legacy flight control systems with partial authority stability augmentation and developing a blueprint for future system upgrades. These rotorcraft need affordable solutions to implement desired flying qualities improvements and improved system reliability to continue effective rotorcraft operations. The BAA requirement will be to develop Rotorcraft VMS functional building blocks applicable to as many rotorcraft as practical and sufficient for Industry to design, build, and flight qualify for military use. A two phased effort is contemplated. Phase 1 will define VMS functional requirements for selected military rotorcraft (e.g., UH-60A/M/X, CH-47D/F, AH-1X, RAH-66, etc) for an open system that is scalable, flexible, modular, and based on commercial-off-the-shelf-components and practices. Phase 2 will be competed to select the best design approaches to build and test open system modules sufficient to complete three flightworthy prototype systems. Phase 2 will design, build, and test prototype modules; integrate these modules to three distinctly different platform configurations and test them in a System Integration Facility (SIL). SIL testing will demonstrate that the open system performance matches legacy system performance and that the three prototype systems will host software unique to each rotorcraft without modification. SIL testing will also demonstrate the capability to satisfy advanced flight control features and functions in a partial authority system including attitude command/attitude hold and position hold modes, as well as emerging carefree maneuvering, rotor state feedback, and task tailored control laws from the Helicopter Active Control Technology Program. Phase 2 will also incorporate requirements from several ongoing AATD Rotorcraft VMS programs into the functional specification and as much as practical into the demonstrations. It is anticipated that the resulting prototype systems will be flight tested under a follow on effort. Responses to this announcement should take the form of: 1) expressions of willingness to join a collaborative effort (e.g., a cooperative research and development agreement); 2) requests for information to clarify Government requirement; and 3) inputs to the Government to enhance the final BAA. Deadline for receipt of responses is included in item 10 of this announcement; responses may be submitted electronically to the address included in item 11.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010105/ASOL009.HTM (W-003 SN50A099)