Battelle has won a potential seven-year, $46.3 million contract to help the Department of Defense support the manufacture of thermal protection materials that can withstand extreme hypersonic environments. The Manufacturing of Carbon-Carbon Composites for Hypersonic Applications initiative seeks to rapidly mature and integrate manufacturing innovations that will accelerate the production of carbon-carbon composites.
The Air Force Research Laboratory received five bids for the Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract and will obligate $6.3 million in fiscal 2020 research, development, test, and evaluation funds at the time of award.
The urgency to meet and exceed near-peer capabilities in hypersonic weapons systems has elevated the importance of solving the daunting scientific and engineering challenges that have made reliable flight at hypersonic speeds elusive. One such critical need is Thermal Protection Systems that can withstand the aerodynamic heating of traveling at hypersonic speeds. Few materials can withstand such extreme temperatures, and current manufacturing practices can take on the order of months to yield a single part.
Battelle’s Advanced Materials team employs deep scientific and engineering expertise to help government and commercial clients develop new capabilities, extend the lifetime of current systems, and improve operational performance.
Battelle has made key investments including a $1 million capital investment to establish an R&D-scale high-temperature composite development laboratory focused on improving performance and manufacturability for advanced TPS.
For more information: Battelle
