The US Army has issued Logos Technologies a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 development contract worth as much as USD260,000 for powered parafoil system signature reduction opportunities.
Doug Rombough, Logos Technologies vice president of business development, told Janes on 9 February that the US Army wants to augment its Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS) with a reduced signature-powered parafoil capability. The service asked Logos Technologies to investigate a variety of signature reductions including radar, acoustic, thermal, and visible.
Phase 1 is for a paper study on how those potential signature reductions would affect the cost, weight, and performance of a powered parafoil system. According to Rombough, Logos Technologies plans to submit a Phase 2 proposal around June. The company had to compete for its Phase 1 award, he added.
The JPADS integrates a parachute decelerator, an autonomous guidance unit, and a load container or pallet to create a system that can accurately deliver critical supplies with great precision along a predetermined glide and flight path. The system consists of two weight classes: 907 kg and 4,536 kg.
The JPADS guidance system uses military Global Positioning System (GPS) data for precise navigation and interfaces. It uses a wirelessly updatable mission planning module onboard an aircraft to receive real-time weather data and compute multiple aerial release points, according to the US Army.
The JPADS is designed for aircraft to drop cargo from altitudes of up to 24,500 ft mean sea level. It releases cargo from a minimum offset of 8 km from the intended point of impact with an objective capability of 25 km offset.
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