The purpose of the DARPA Armor challenge is to identify revolutionary and promising new armor systems for military vehicles. The Armor Challenge is aimed primarily at inventors and small organizations who do not have the resources to initiate full-scale armor development programs. The Armor Challenge is an opportunity for developers to obtain a rapid and impartial assessment of their existing armor designs with testing of submitted armor panels in a series of “shoot-outs” at a certified ballistics laboratory. Participants in the Armor Challenge will be selected by DARPA based on the criteria listed below, and selectees will be invited to send test samples of their novel armor designs for testing at an independent facility. Funding will NOT be provided for Research and Development, but DARPA will reimburse for the cost of manufacturing and shipping of the samples. DARPA will fund all ballistic testing at an independent laboratory to ensure that armor performance is judged consistently by an objective organization operating with recognized, highest standards. Samples that demonstrate superior performance against one or more threats, or that incorporate a particularly innovative design feature, will be considered by DARPA for further development. TECHNICAL SCOPE The focus of the Armor Challenge is to identify promising armor systems for military vehicles. There is no requirement to include specific classes of materials in the armor, although it is anticipated that successful systems may be combinations of more than one material type. Passive armor systems are desired. However, non-passive systems operating within the confines of the armor will be considered. “Bullet-on-bullet” or similar techniques that use a projectile or directed energy to defeat a threat beyond the plane of the armor panel are outside the scope of this challenge. The primary goal for the Armor Challenge is a 50% reduction in weight compared to rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) steel for the following two threats: (1) 7.62mm armor piercing round (specific type to be determined), and (2) 0.50 caliber fragment simulating projectile (FSP). A secondary goal is the feasibility for producing vehicle armor materials at a cost competitive with or less than RHA steel. Proposers should expect to deliver three (3) eighteen inch (18 in.) by eighteen inch (18 in.) panels for each threat to be addressed. It is acceptable to propose a different panel configuration or weight to address each threat, but armor systems that can provide protection against the range of threats using a single configuration will be evaluated more favorably. SELECTION PROCESS The Armor Challenge participants will be selected by DARPA through the following process:
CONCEPT PAPER REQUIREMENTS Concept papers for the Armor Challenge will be submitted through the link at the bottom of this page. Concept Papers are expected to address the following:
CONCEPT PAPER FORMAT The concept paper must not exceed 8 pages, and must address the issues listed in sections A through D below. Proposers are free to decide the emphasis given to each section, but the focus should be on the technical description of innovative features of the proposed armor design. Only unclassified concept papers will be accepted for the Armor Challenge. A) Description of the proposed armor concept. B) Schedule C) Facilities D) Cost Concept papers will be accepted through January 26, 2009. CONCEPT PAPER EVAULATION CRITERIA Concept Papers will not be evaluated against each other, since they are not submitted in accordance with a common work statement. The intent is to review concept papers as soon as possible after they arrive. A request may be made for further clarifications. The request for an oral presentation, or lack thereof, should not be construed as either a positive or negative assessment of the concept paper. The Government reserves the right to select all, some, or none of the concept papers received in response to this special notice and to make selections without discussions with offerors. The following evaluation criteria are listed in order of decreasing importance:
Scientific and Technical Merit of the Concept Paper Evaluate whether the concept is plausible, innovative and unique, that the technical approach is sound and the materials of construction and methodologies to be utilized are credible, appropriate, sufficient, and are applied rationally. Value to Defense Evaluate whether the product is likely to be applicable and useful to the Department of Defense. Cost Realism Costs of the purchased panels must be reasonable. SCHEDULE Armor Challenge “shoot-outs” will take place periodically throughout the program, and concept papers are required for participation in any single “shoot out.” After the shoot-out, the team's performance will be evaluated in two areas: 1) potential for reducing armor weight as determined by appropriate metrics, and 2) the expected cost of the armor in production quantities. There is no pre-determined number of Armor Challenge participants that will be brought forward into a DARPA development program. There is no guarantee of a DARPA development program arising from this Special Notice, but participants can propose a development program to the DSO Office-Wide BAA06-19. SECURITY Due to the possibility that ballistic test data can become classified, proposers must be willing and able to obtain a security clearance if they are selected to continue with a full development program after the Armor Challenge if they do not have a current SECRET security clearance. Security classification guidelines for armor materials have been developed by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Weapons and Materials Research Directorate, and these guidelines will be provided to contractors as necessary. Classified test data will be withheld from Armor Challenge participants if they do not hold the appropriate security clearances. The Armor Challenge may generate information controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR 120-130, therefore Armor Challenge selectees may be required to protect information pursuant to ITAR and are encouraged to consider this when proposing. CONTACT INFORMATION DARPA Point of Contact: DARPA Program Manager Defense Sciences Office CONCEPT PAPER SUBMISSION To submit an Armor Challenge Concept Paper, create a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF document that satisfies the above criteria, and attach it an e-mail sent to judah.goldwasser@darpa.mil. |
