Department of Defense Annual Report

Department of Defense

on

Cooperative Agreements

Other Transactions

Entered into During FY2000

Under 10 USC 2371

1. 
   The Technology Areas in which research projects were conducted under such agreements or other transactions.
   
2. 
   The extent of the cost sharing among Federal and non-Federal sources.
   
3. 
   The extent to which the use of the cooperative agreements or other transactions-
   

1. 
   has contributed to a broadening of the technology and industrial base available for meeting Department of Defense needs; and
   
2. 
   has fostered within the technology and industrial base new relationships and practices that support the national security of the United States.
   

The objective of this DUST program is to develop, test and deliver two prototype CDMA cellular system infrastructure equipment that will incorporate vulnerability enhancements that are being developed under an another ongoing contract. This equipment will enhance the ability to deploy this technology in a tactical environment. Currently STCD has been examining CDMA cellular technology to determine the feasibility of deploying this technology into a tactical environment. It is envision that this technology can be deployed based on testing conducted by STCD. PCS technology is envision to be deployed around TOCS at brigade and above and as a supplement to the wide area MSRT/RAU radio within the MSE system. This DUST agreement will help to correct some system deficiencies discovered during system testing at STCD. These enhancements will provide subscriber anonymity and will examine and test improvements to electronic denial of service. This system will provide a secure wireless voice capability. The downsized infrastructure that will be delivered under this DUST will also allow for quick set-up and tear down of system components. The vulnerability enhancements will provide greater security against enemy electronic attack.

The use of an other transaction agreement has allow for the streamlining of the Acquisition cycle and the administrative overhead of managing typical FAR based contracts. That has allowed a firm such as Qualcomm to focus their energy and resources into solving the technical challenges that are the basis of this agreement. While Qualcomm probably would have participated with a FAR based contract the use of this agreement has allowed for the use of many of the same practices that a mainly commercial firm such as Qualcomm normally utilizes in the commercial environment.

The use of an other transaction agreement has not created a new relationship as we also have a FAR based contract with Qualcomm which was awarded under CECOM BAA. However as discussed above the use of this agreement did allow for the streamlining of the any of the burdensome FAR based clauses and allow us to focus more of the funding into the research that is required under this contract. Also, the use of this agreement has fostered a feeling among the contractor and the Government of being in a partnership arrangement between the parties. In fact our agreement highlights these points in the description of the program.

The technical objectives of this effort are to develop an integrated camera for surveillance and targeting for the military, and to develop a low cost day/night surveillance camera for commercial use. In the military arena, the three major technological thrusts will be the Transferred Electron (TE) photocathode development, the Active Pixel Sensor CMOS (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) development, and the thermal hardening of the TE photocathode to meet military storage requirements.

The use of an other transaction agreement has allowed the aggressive pursuit of an active target identification system that will be used in conjunction with current Forward Looking Infrared sensors. Use of this system will allow identification of targets at ranges that would otherwise only be detection ranges.

Through this other transaction agreement, the prime contractor Intevac will be enlisting the efforts of the Stanford University Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory to investigate the surface chemistry of the TE photocathode, which will lead to a more temperature robust system. This system will be used as stated in the previous paragraph.

The main objective of this project is to identify and explore approaches to overcome the roadblocks associated assuring both a safe and cost-effective process for a variety of low-acid foods for military and commercial use employing high pressure processing (HPP).

1. 
   Characterize the effect of pressure, temperature and combinations of other hurdles to microbial growth on selected food pathogenic and spoilage spores during HPP and model their time-Temperature-Pressure inactivation behavior.
   
2. 
   Demonstrate the operation of pilot equipment (35 l volume) at elevated temperatures (up to 95^oc) and pressure (up to 700MPa) to produce demonstration HPP foods.
   
3. 
   Insure the safety and reliability of the HPP for these foods
   
4. 
   Quantify the taste, nutritional, and consumer acceptance advantages of HPP foods.
   

The HPP technology offers a major potential to produce higher quality, more nutritious stable food items for both military and civilian markets. HPP technology offers high potential to improve the quality and variety of foods available to military personnel in the field by minimizing the chemical changes in foods resulting from traditional thermal preservation methods. The military benefit will be maximized if the technology can become feasible for shelf-stable items that do not require refrigeration while providing added quality and nutritional value compared to current thermally processed combat rations. This new technology, as adopted by industry, will help meet the goals for flexible logistics for Force Protection for Joint Vision 2010 and will meet the tenets of GEN Shinseki’s vision by “reducing the size of our deployed support footprints for both Combat Support and Combat Service Support”. Gains in logistics efficiency will be reached by substituting HPP-treated bulk food items in flexible packaging for the cans currently used. A major future battlefield impact will be met by HPP-treated specialty foods supplemented with performance-enhancing food ingredients. These natural products, including key antioxidant nutrients, are very sensitive to the thermal processes now used to stabilize combat rations. The focused logistics impact of this new technology is at the core of a newly approved Army Science & Technology/ Defense Technology Objective (STO/DTO) entitled,” Combat Rations for Enhanced Warfighter Logistics” (CREWL). The extended shelflife of nonthermally processed foods should also benefit the Navy’s Afloat Community under their DD 21 program and Air Force overseas operations.

The use of a Cooperative Agreement has enabled four major food companies to overcome competitive instincts to work together with the leading producer in the world of high-pressure equipment for food processing applications.

The use of a Cooperative agreement has resulted in additional benefits, not addressed above. The flexibility and ability of the agreement to bring potential competing industrial partners together would have been much more difficult under a normal DFAR-driven contracting vehicle. Industrial partners who have backed away from government contracts appreciate both the speed and minimal boilerplate provisions provided by this Cooperative Agreement. The prime contractor, Flow International has never had a Government-sponsored R&D Contract.

The technical objectives of this effort are to develop and demonstrate in the laboratory, an integrated brassboard fuel cell engine and fuel reformer, fueled with JP-8 and Fischer-Tropsch synthetic fuels, and designed to power the PEI Hybrid Electric HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle). This effort will be the first to provide experimental data about the size, power density and performance of a light vehicle fuel cell engine designed for military duties and logistic fuel. This effort will identify and experimentally address design problems posed by integrating a JP-8 fuel reformer with an automotive fuel cell intended for a military environment. Results of the current phase will determine whether to proceed with engineering a unit to power a hybrid electric HMMWV. Results of this effort are also expected to materially contribute to the technology base for fuel cell mobile power generators that run on logistic fuels such as JP-8.

The participating firms are Plug Power, Inc., Hydrogen Burner Technology (HBT), and TRW Automotive Systems Division. None of these firms would have participated without an OT. Intellectual property (IP) protection was the absolutely paramount issue for Plug Power and HBT. Neither HBT nor Plug Power would have accepted the government’s insistence on technical data rights under a FAR contract because this would move their technologies into the public domain, removing their commercial profit potential.

The use of an OT has fostered a new relationship among the three participating companies, which would not have occurred without the DUST solicitation and OT award. The relationship appears to be expanding into residential power generation, creating a public benefit by accelerating the development of clean, efficient fuel cell-based distributed power for homes. Distributed power generation lets utilities install additional generating capacity without building new power plants, thus avoiding regulatory costs and delays. Fuel cell power units help lower national energy consumption by generating power more efficiently, and using fuel cell waste heat for water and space heating, and reduce air pollution.

The OT has allowed quick changes to the originally proposed scope of work, in response to new understanding of, and opportunities in, fuel processor technology gained since the original proposal. It has also allowed Plug Power and HBT to renegotiate their cost sharing and technical relationship, to accommodate the work scope changes. Cost sharing with the government creates a strong incentive for the commercial partners to achieve a useful result, even if only for commercial purposes. For the government, this effectively creates “two ways to win.” If the research leads directly to a product that is useful for defense use, good. If the immediate results are only useful commercially, they are still liable to foster further development of a product that eventually meets defense needs.