DON26BZ01-NV001 — Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) Maneuver Improvements

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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY (DON) — Phase I

DON26BZ01-NV001 — Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) Maneuver Improvements

Award Maximum: $140,000 (Base) / $100,000 (Option) Period of Performance: 6 months (Base) + 6 months (Option) Phase Type: Phase I

OBJECTIVE: Improve the Human-Machine Interface for operator control in the transition from water to land and improve water mobility in the surf zone for Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs).

DESCRIPTION: The ACV is an adaptation of an Italian Combat Vehicle with enough changes to weight and buoyancy that water mobility has been negatively impacted. Improvements are needed to the operator's controls and water propulsion hardware to reduce operator workload and improve maneuverability in the water and surf zone.

The new design shall make the transition between land and water operations easier for the operator by simplifying the human-machine interface (i.e., having to monitor and actuate fewer controls). The focus should be on determining innovative functional capability and controls which will reduce cognitive load on the operator when entering and exiting the surf zone and traversing through water. The new design should also make the vehicle more responsive to the operator's input. The new design needs to consider maintenance and corrosion control. The design needs to maintain or, if possible, improve water speed, bollard pull, and water operation fuel economy. The new design shall not result in degraded performance as baselined by the current propulsion system.

The ACV powerpack currently provides a maximum of 690hp at 1,800rpm (490kW) with maximum torque of 2,036 ft-lb (2,761 N-m) at 1,500rpm. The size of the area that an improved water propulsion device MUST FIT is 28 inches by 26 inches by 26 inches not including potential bracketry. The propulsion device must operate in shallow water where it will be exposed to sand, mud and small rocks in the water flow.

PHASE I: Design a new control system and concepts to improve steering in both the water and transition modes (land and fording). Modeling and simulation will be used to document the new design, and a control system model will be developed to simulate system operation with operator inputs, corresponding water propulsion system outputs, and system feedback to the operator. A bench top system may be built to show how the concept would work and allow users to comment on the design. The design will be documented in a performance specification and an architecture diagram to be used in Phase II to build a prototype for testing.

PHASE II: Develop the design concept from Phase I into a fully functional prototype. The prototype system will be lab tested once the design is mature. The test plan for the prototype will be prepared by the awardee, and reviewed by the government, to test the performance against the specification developed in Phase I. Lessons learned from the prototype system will be used to update the performance specification developed in Phase I.

Phase II Option (if exercised): Upon successful lab performance of the prototype system, the government will make an ACV available, and a refined design will be generated and integrated into the ACV. An updated computer model of the refined system will be generated to simulate operation of the refined design for the government prior to vehicle integration. The ACV with the refined design will be tested at a commercial or government facility to validate performance. The government will provide test support to include operators. The test plan for the refined design will be prepared by the awardee, and reviewed by the government, to test the performance against the updated Phase II performance specification. The refined design and test results will be documented in the final report.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Upon successful completion of testing, the final design shall be provisioned and catalogued with the necessary logistical documents to enable ACV modification and employment of the system based on battalion desire to implement on their vehicles.

The main transition path will be to the ACV. Other military vehicles that require a fording or swim mode may also be interested, to include the Stryker and the Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV). Commercial applications include amphibious vehicles used to deliver cargo to remote locations where ports are not available.