WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio – U.S. Air Force researchers are asking industry to develop small and inexpensive electro-optical and infrared sensors for small attritable uncrewed aircraft.
Officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, issued a broad-agency announcement (FA8650-22-S-5009) on Friday for the Low-Cost Optical Systems Technology (Low-COST) program.
Low-COST seeks to develop compact built-in sensors using optical element applied sciences for attritable and low-cost small uncrewed aircraft, and determine purposes of rising industrial capabilities in low-cost planar optics for infrared goal identification, missile warning, or different cueing sensor purposes.
The purpose is to discover high-performance and small dimension, weight, and energy consumption (SWaP) planar optical designs that may not impose a big monetary burden if their uncrewed aircraft had been to be destroyed in performing their missions.
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Planar optics know-how, together with diffractive optical components and metasurface optical components, seems to supply optical design capabilities which are totally different from these of typical mirror and bulk optical refractive components.
Planar optics and planar picture intensifiers may allow direct imaginative and prescient of a number of infrared bands via one frequent aperture. Structured supplies similar to diffractive optics and metamaterials allow one to embed optical functionalities far past these of conventional refractives into one optical factor.
While large subject of view, broad bandwidth, and excessive imaging high quality all are achievable individually, combining these traits in observe stays a problem. In addition to planar optics, picture intensification is important to transform the customarily weak infrared mild into seen photons detectable by the bare eye.
The purpose of this effort is to discover to what extent any new developments in these areas may enhance design flexibility in optical techniques. Another purpose is to discover how such capabilities may assist scale back the prices of optical sensors with scaled manufacturing approaches.
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The Air Force will conduct a digital briefing to industry on Low-COST targets by way of Google Meet from 1 to 2 p.m. jap time on Tuesday 15 March 2022 at https://meet.google.com/myu-umco-bth.
Companies ought to submit proposals no later than 21 April 2022 by way of DoD SAFE at https://safe.apps.mil and by electronic mail to the Air Force’s Brad Kneisly at [email protected] [email protected].
Email technical inquiries to Joseph Burns at [email protected], or contracting inquiries to Brad Kneisly at [email protected].
More info is on-line at https://sam.gov/opp/82ce224a7e0943cbb266f33c0462671d/view.
