DAF27BZ02-DV021 — Rapidly Reconfigurable Pod-Based System Survivability Suite for Air Operations in Contested Environments

Investigate, design, prototype, and experimentally evaluate advanced open-architecture methodologies and reconfigurable subsystem integration concepts within an external modular pod construct (threshold baseline: Air Force Research Laboratory [AFRL] Agile Pod). The primary R&D objective is to explore novel approaches for abstracting platform-to-payload interdependencies, solving multi-physics obscuration and thermal/electromagnetic boundary problems, and demonstrating dynamic, autonomous self-protection threat-warning, correlation, and countermeasure techniques via distributed edge compute without requiring host-platform system recertification.

Modern multi-domain operational environments present increasingly agile, multi-spectral threat emitters spanning radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), and electro-optical (EO) regimes. Conventional aircraft survivability equipment (ASE) suffers from hardwired, federated implementations, tightly coupled mechanical and electrical host dependencies, and high-latency upgrade cycles. Overcoming these barriers requires foundational research into containerized, hardware-agnostic modular payloads, high-efficiency edge processing architectures, and adaptive aperture configurations that can operate autonomously while remaining fully interoperable with joint command-and-control networks. This topic solicits applied research and experimental development into an externally carried, modular open-system survivability architecture. While leveraging mature sensing and countermeasure components where appropriate, the primary technical investigation focuses on heterogeneous compute abstraction and advanced processing architectures. This entails researching novel architectural patterns that abstract diverse federated signal processing, countermeasure arbitration, threat correlation, and cross-platform networking into a unified, modular, software-defined compute environment. Key research activities include evaluating containerization paradigms, real-time deterministic virtualization, and Open Mission Systems / Universal Command and Control Interface (OMS/UCI) standard execution under strict size, weight, power, and thermal (SWaP-C) limitations. Simultaneously, the effort must resolve multi-physics boundary constraints and sensor obscuration challenges. This requires developing high-fidelity analytical, computational fluid dynamic (CFD), and electro-optical/electromagnetic models to characterize and mitigate aircraft-induced obscuration and aero-optical distortion across diverse carriage regimes. Research will further focus on distributed aperture hand-off algorithms and multi-pod sensor correlation to synthesize complete, gapless spherical coverage (steradian field-of-regard) across heterogeneous, dynamic flight profiles. Finally, the investigation addresses dynamic interoperability and low-latency autonomous response mechanisms. Investigation is needed into machine-to-machine autonomy algorithms capable of conducting real-time threat detection, localized track clustering, and immediate self-protection countermeasure dispense and pointing without operator-in-the-loop dependencies, while concurrently synthesizing threat telemetry for dissemination across communications links. Underpinning this entire capability is the design of open, non-proprietary physical and logical interface syntax aligned with Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) guidelines to enable zero-rework substitution of future experimental payloads.

As this is a Direct-to-Phase II (D2P2) topic, no Phase I awards will be made. To qualify, applicant(s) must provide Feasibility Documentation demonstrating prior completion of Phase I-equivalent efforts outside SBIR funding. Evidence must include: Architectural Trade Studies & Modeling (comparative performance models evaluating physical, thermal, and electrical integration of multi-spectral survivability components inside modular pod form factors), Algorithm & Interface Simulation (preliminary software simulations validating hardware abstraction layers, synthetic threat correlation pipelines, and OMS/UCI-compliant data schemas), Aero-Optical and Sensor Obscuration Analysis (ray-tracing, installed field-of-regard modeling, and host aircraft interaction analyses proving the conceptual viability of 360-degree coverage via single or distributed pod arrangements), and Bench-Scale Experimental Data (measured bench-test, hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL), or prototype range test results verifying core detection, processing latency, and countermeasure control feasibility).

During Phase II, the contractor shall advance the theoretical architecture and preliminary models into an experimental flight-research prototype using the AFRL Agile Pod framework, executing rigorous laboratory, environmental, captive-carry, and flight-test investigations. Initial efforts will focus on fabricating and bench-testing the experimental pod prototype, incorporating an integrated suite of advanced EO/IR threat sensors, directed infrared countermeasure (DIRCM) and countermeasure dispensing interfaces, and dedicated edge compute. This effort entails implementing and empirically evaluating non-proprietary, machine-readable data bus architectures and containerized processing blocks, specifically measuring execution latency, processor overhead, and bus contention during simulated high-density threat saturation events. Concurrently, the contractor shall execute an extensive obscuration and field-of-regard experimentation program using ground rigs and environmental test chambers to validate sensor line-of-sight and optical sensitivity across diverse aircraft station mountings. This research must quantify blind sectors created by wing, engine, and airframe geometry, while experimentally validating predictive sensor-fusion and track-handoff algorithms designed to share situational awareness dynamically across multi-pod or off-board networks to compensate for airframe shadowing. To resolve integration multi-physics boundaries, the prototype shall undergo environmental stress testing, thermal-vacuum profiling, structural vibration and shock characterization, and electromagnetic interference/compatibility (EMI/EMC) laboratory evaluations. These trials will establish the structural and vibrational limits of tightly coupled sensor payloads and evaluate innovative thermal dissipation strategies (including ram-air heat exchangers and conductive thermal management) for high-density compute cores operating in unconditioned external pod compartments. Finally, the contractor shall conduct an instrumented captive-carry and flight-research campaign aboard a designated surrogate aircraft or research platform. Flight testing will collect empirical aerodynamic, structural, thermal, and sensor-tracking data under operational flight maneuvers, evaluating the autonomous threat detection, handoff latency, and countermeasure pointing accuracy of the integrated system against calibrated ground and airborne threat simulators. This campaign will also validate over-the-air modular communications links, demonstrating the capability to stream real-time sensor data, threat alerts, and system telemetry to ground control stations and networked mission nodes. DELIVERABLES AND TECHNICAL DATA: Deliverables under this effort encompass experimental flight-hardware prototypes, modular software pipelines, architectural standards documentation, and empirical research datasets. The contractor shall deliver one or more flight-representative experimental pod systems integrated with reconfigurable edge-compute chassis, power conditioning modules, and active threat-warning and countermeasure payloads. Accompanying software deliverables must include all underlying source code, container definitions, firmware configurations, and algorithmic models governing sensor fusion, threat arbitration, and interface abstractions. To ensure non-proprietary extensibility, the contractor shall provide comprehensive, open Interface Control Documents (ICDs), machine-readable schemas, and interface syntax definitions that enable independent third parties and future researchers to integrate alternative sensors and payloads without architectural rework. Technical data deliverables must also include complete empirical test datasets and scientific reports spanning computational fluid dynamics and wind-tunnel evaluations, bench-scale and hardware-in-the-loop test logs, EMI/EMC compatibility reports, environmental thermal logs, and full flight-test telemetry. Finally, the contractor shall provide an R&D Transition and Maturation Roadmap detailing remaining technical risks, manufacturing readiness metrics, airworthiness qualification deltas, and scaling strategies for transition into operational defense acquisition programs.

Successful technology is intended to provide AFCENT, ACC, and operational organizations a rapidly fieldable aircraft-survivability capability for initial employment and a reusable modular integration pathway for future electronic-warfare, communications, sensing, processing, and self-protection payloads. The transition owner is PAE ISR SOF. The architecture is intended to support future adaptation to additional platforms through standard lug spacing, power requirements, and minimized host-aircraft integration burden. Follow-on funding is exploratory from AFCENT based on D2P2 results.