The Department of Defense (DOD) is seeking proposals for the topic of "Advanced Manufacturing for Common Launch Container" as part of their SBIR 24.4 Annual solicitation. The objective of this topic is to develop applied research towards an innovative capability to use advanced manufacturing and iterative design to enable a Common Launch Container to meet military specification requirements for storage, transportation, and munition launch.
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), and offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals and their country of origin. The research should address the development of an iterative design process and advanced manufacturing to design and validate a munition container for transportation, storage, and launch. The system should be designed to launch the munition at 12-18 feet per second from the pallet on the cargo ramp or pallet in free flight after cargo drop.
The feasibility study in Phase I should investigate all options that meet or exceed the minimum performance parameters specified and recommend the option that best achieves the objective. Phase II involves developing, installing, and demonstrating a prototype system on a SOCOM aircraft.
The potential impacts of this research include enabling rapid and iterative manufacturing processes for a broad range of military applications. The advanced manufacturing and modular design will be critical to all services where rapid iteration and production are needed. The system could be selected for production or follow-on iterations for future applications.
The project duration is not specified, but the solicitation is open until March 31, 2025. More details and the application process can be found on the DOD SBIR 24.4 topic page on the Defense SBIR/STTR website.