Training and Readiness Accelerator (TReX II) Minnesota Aerospace Complex (MAC) Prototype Project

On 18 September 2024, in accordance with 10 U.S. Code - 4022, the Army Contracting Command - Orlando has awarded an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) via the Training and Readiness Accelerator II (TReX II) for the Minnesota Aerospace Complex (MAC) Prototype Project. A Request for Solutions for RED-013 High Speed Systems Test (HSST)_Ground Test and Evaluation (GTE)_04 - T&E Ground Test Capabilities and Correlation Methodologies to support Hypersonic Air-breathing, boost-glide & Interceptor System Development for these efforts was issued to the TReX II consortium on 12 January 2024, which resulted in the submittal of 4 total responses. As a result of the competition, the prototype project was awarded to Advanced Technology International, Inc. (ATI) as the managing prime to Calspan Aero Systems Engineering (ASE), Inc.; doing business as (DBA) North Wind Test LLC located in St. Paul, MN. The total value of this prototype project, if all milestones and options are exercised, is $98,545,558.00. The Director of the DoD Test Resources Management Center (TRMC) actively supports the 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS) with special emphasis on the Undersecretary of Defense Research and Engineering (USD R&E) modernization priorities. The TRMC serves as the DoD's steward for both test capabilities and test infrastructure required across the DoD's test ranges and for facilities operated by the DoD components. In performing its stewardship and governance roles, the TRMC assists the components in fully resourcing the test throughput and associated instrumentation to meet the needs of the acquisition and laboratory community in support of all DoD weapons systems testing. The TRMC also acquires new and innovative test infrastructures to support evolutionary acquisitions supporting Programs of Record, experimentation and prototyping, and responses to Urgent Operational Needs. Within its annually funded and enduring acquisition program elements, the TRMC invests in both innovative technologies that revolutionize or accelerate testing capabilities and development of prototype Test and Evaluation (T&E) capabilities. It may also facilitate the follow-on production and purchase of prototype capabilities created under this request for solution (RFS). However, entry into any follow-on activity will be determined by component need, in addition to the successful accomplishment of statutory and technical preconditions. The TRMC T&E/Science & Technology (S&T) Program is the primary DoD agent funding and executing technology development efforts to meet all DoD component T&E technology shortfalls. The goal for the program is to obtain - game-changing, revolutionary high-risk/high-reward advancements that propel the ability to perform DoD T&E activities, thus mitigating the timeframes of associated military capability obsolescence. Prototype pursuits may also be in support of TRMC's Central Test and Evaluation Investment Program (CTEIP). The United States (US) has been pursuing the development of hypersonic weapons aggressively for over a decade and, more recently, has initiated programs to develop counter-hypersonic systems including high speed interceptor technologies. Former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Hyten has stated that hypersonic weapons could enable - responsive, long-range, strike options against distant, defended, and/or time-critical threats. It is recognized by the hypersonic community that development of these systems requires the synthesis of advanced modeling and simulation with significant ground and flight testing. Improvements in modeling and simulation benefit greatly from the rapid improvements in computational technology, but ground testing is significantly impeded by the age and state of the US infrastructure. The majority of the existing hypersonic tunnels supporting DoD requirements were designed and built decades ago, resulting in degraded capabilities due to aging infrastructure and a reliance on outdated technology. Given the urgent need for hypersonic system development in accordance with the National Defense Strategy, there is a demand for additional and modernized ground test facilities supporting these systems. Increasing and improving the US ground-based hypersonic testing capability will help facilitate the development of weapons and vehicle systems by providing a relevant hypersonic flow environment. The development of aerodynamic data at relevant Reynolds numbers requires relatively large test facilities or hypersonic tunnels that operate at high stagnation pressure. It is well known that the existing test facilities that serve this need across the supersonic and hypersonic speed domain are both few and extremely busy with backlogs typically measured in years. In fact, the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA) produced reports indicating that the demand signal for supersonic and/or hypersonic ground test facilities can be as high as four times the amount of testing the existing facilities can support in some instances. This is further supported by the internal discussion with Government officials (that are not made public) with relevant knowledge and expertise in the area, who corroborate the need-to-capacity ratios from the IDA reports. Additionally, two of the prominent test facilities in the US are owned and operated by Lockheed Martin Corporation (Lockheed) and the Boeing Company (Boeing) respectively and are thus not completely independent to support all DoD development efforts. While these two facilities allow competitors and the Government to test, priority is given to each company's internal needs. Moreover, given the fact that these facilities are owned and operated by private industry, the rest of the industry and the Government are often not comfortable testing highly proprietary concepts. Here, the selected vendor for the award of the prototype OTA - Calspan Aero Systems Engineering (ASE), Inc.; doing business as (DBA) North Wind Test LLC, does not develop hypersonic systems or direct subsystems as part of their business. As a result, any concerns about their independence and prioritizing of its internal needs are greatly minimized. For aerothermal, aero-optical, and aero-propulsion system development, it is highly desirable for this environment to match the chemistry and energy of air at the relevant flight conditions. The two primary large-scale US test facilities that serve these needs are the Aerodynamic and Propulsion Test Unit (APTU) facility at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) and the 8-foot High Temperature Tunnel (HTT) at the NASA Langley Research Center. While both facilities are national assets that are critical to the mission, both utilize combustion air heaters (CAH) that result in airflow that is not representative of flight. This non-representative airflow, called vitiated air, negatively affects the evaluation of hypersonic systems, including propulsion systems, apertures, optics, and materials. Non-vitiated air, also referred to as clean air, allows for more representative testing and improved hypersonic system design. The High Speed System Test (HSST) Minnesota Aerospace Project (MAC) Prototype Project will benefit the DoD's S&T and T&E enterprise by expanding the quantity of large ground test facilities for hypersonic systems development. The objectives for the technology advancement incorporated into the MAC are to: (1) provide development test capabilities for hypersonic systems in a relevant environment, (2) reduce risk for development programs, (3) enable shorter hypersonic system development cycles, and (4) provide test entry certainty to match development program timelines. This prototype effort will leverage existing facility components and systems as well as new components and systems to result in a prototype complex consisting of multiple test facilities that both enhance current capabilities and provide new and expanded capabilities supporting hypersonic system development. As part of this prototype complex, the development of a clean air test capability to address the need for representative airflow to test hypersonic systems previously described, is included. The MAC shall involve the design, development, integration, and checkout of a prototype hypersonic facility complex. It will provide innovative integrations of numerous technologies and provide novel T&E infrastructure to support the DoD hypersonic community. The effort includes the development of operations, maintenance, and sustainment plans and the engineering necessary to develop the facilities. The MAC will provide a hypersonic ground test capability and utility for aerodynamic and aerothermal testing at relevant environments integrated with a computational modeling and simulation (M&S) environment useful for test facility design and efficient test configurations. Potential candidates for the MAC concept are: - Multi-Sonic Aero Tunnels (MSAT) T1 and T2 - Hypersonic Aerothermal Tunnel (HATT) - Technology and Workforce Integration for Networked Simulations (TWINS) - Refractory Bench Test Rig The key aspects that result in this effort being a prototype activity are the integration of multiple key enabling technologies, the development of novel concepts of operation to achieve efficiencies, and the development of new technologies to improve facility operations and operating conditions. New technology development includes new thermal heating capabilities to provide the required flow conditions - this results in the development of prototype capability that will be assessed as part of this project. Additionally, multiple enabling technologies, including air delivery capabilities, thermal heat generation capabilities, and nozzle designs will be incorporated, requiring new technology development and assessment. Finally, prototype concepts of operation aimed at achieving greater efficiencies and lower operating costs will be developed as part of this effort. These will need to be tested and assessed as part of this overall prototype development. The large hypersonic wind tunnels in the US were designed and built in the period from the 1950s to the 1970s when America invested heavily in missile development and the space program. Although the age of existing ground test infrastructure within the US is a hindrance to hypersonic systems development, this situation offers the opportunity to consider game-changing technology and approaches to ground-based testing and analysis that can significantly reduce the time for development and deployment of future hypersonic systems. The MAC will provide a prototype hypersonic test complex available to support DoD hypersonic test programs. This prototype efforts involves the development of capabilities for several new test facilities that will increase both current test capacity and test capability in support of the DoD's T&E enterprise. Additionally, Calspan ASE DBA North Wind Test LLC and the University of Minnesota have entered a Memorandum of Understanding that includes the opportunity to collaborate during the design and operation of the MAC facilities, which would allow the application of the University of Minnesota's computational capabilities in support of the design of the prototype capabilities. Upon successful completion of this prototype effort, the Government anticipates that a follow-on production effort may be awarded via either contract or transaction, without the use of competitive procedures if the participants in this transaction successfully complete the prototype project as awarded. Successful completion will occur when the prototypes have been validated and are accepted by the Government. Further, the government reserves the right to determine part, or all of the prototype project is successfully completed if the vendor shows a particularly favorable or unexpected result justifying the transition to production. Note: Should the selected vendors fail to demonstrate progress or be unsuccessful in the accomplishment of the goals of this prototyping effort, the Government reserves the right to return to the results of this competition and award additional Other Transaction Agreements to one or more of the vendors that responded to the initial Request for Solutions, as appropriate within the scope and evaluated results of the competition.