V22 Windscreen Improvements

The Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division (NAWCWD), intends to procure, on an other than full and open competition basis in accordance with FAR 6.302-1 a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Commercial contract with Sierracin Corporation, 12780 San Fernando Rd., Sylmar, CA 91342, for the acquisition of services to research and develop procedures to replace the indium tin oxide (ITO) currently used as the heater film in the deicing system of a V22 windscreen with aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) film. 

The outer ply of the V22 windscreen is stretched acrylic (SA) and will be referred to here as the SA faceply. The Contractor shall apply the AZO heater film to the inside surface of the SA faceply using a process that does not heat the SA faceply above 60°C to ensure the SA faceply does not change shape and the surface does not thermally deform. Application of AZO shall use a large manufacturing magnetron sputtering chamber large enough to coat an actual V22 windscreen SA faceply. In addition, the process used to apply the AZO to the SA faceply must be of the appropriate scale to coat the entire inside surface of the SA faceply. In other words, the SA faceply cannot be cut up into smaller segments, coated and then reassembled. 

Performance requirements for the AZO-coated coupons:
•    Sheet resistance of 18 ohms/sq or lower
•    Average values of visible light transmission (VLT) of 70% or higher
•    Average values of night vision transmission (NVIS) of 70% or higher

This effort shall be comprised of three phases, and the period of performance for this contract is estimated at 4-months for each phase for a total of 12-months.

In Phase 1, the Contractor shall develop the process parameters for AZO in a large manufacturing magnetron sputtering chamber using 4” x 12” x 0.25” coupons.

At the end of Phase 1, the contractor shall deliver at least one AZO-coated coupon that NAWCWD can measure to verify sheet resistance and transmission requirements listed above and a final Phase 1 report containing the devopled procedures. The report shall also contain the sheet resistance, VLT, NVIS, crosshatch adhesion, four point bending test and bond tensile test results.

In Phase 2, the Contractor shall scale up the process to coat larger 10” x 30” x 0.25” coupons that simulate the size of one of the heating zones in an actual V22 windscreen SA faceply. The AZO-coated coupons shall be evaluated for optical performance, sheet resistance uniformity and heating uniformity before and after laminating. Laminates shall be exposed to extensive thermal cycling tests involving at least 50 cycles of heating and cooling from -30°F to 120°F during at least 10 days of testing. Sheet resistance shall be measured before and after the extensive thermal cycling tests. Bond tensile tests shall be performed to understand and improve adhesion of the AZO to different adhesives, primers and binder layers. 

At the end of Phase 2, the contractor shall deliver at least one AZO-coated laminate that NAWCWD can measure to verify sheet resistance and transmission requirements listed above and a final Phase 2 report. The report shall also contain the sheet resistance, VLT, NVIS, video thermography and thermal cycle test results.

In Phase 3, the Contractor shall coat an actual V22 faceply with AZO and incorporate the AZO-coated SA faceply into a windscreen/heater assembly that can be evaluated and tested under real-world conditions.

At the end of Phase 3, the contractor shall deliver a final report. The final report shall contain information, photos and a summary of results that will help determine if further performance and environmental testing of a full-scale V22 windscreen/heater assembly incorporating an AZO heater film should be pursued. The report will also contain the bus-to-bus resistance, VLT, NVIS and video thermography test results.  

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals; however, any firm believing it can fulfill the requirement identified above may submit a written response to be received at the Contracting Office no later than 22 Jan 2025, which shall be considered by the agency. The written response shall reference solicitation number N6893625Q0026 and provide a capability statement that clearly indicates the firm’s experience, assets, background, and ability to perform the required work without compromising the quality, accuracy, reliability, and schedule.
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The Government will consider all information received via email to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer by 22 January 2025 at 12:00 PM PST. A determination by the Government not to compete this procurement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The Government will not pay for any information received. No telephone responses will be accepted. Any submissions or questions shall be submitted via email to the point of contacts listed below.

Interested firms must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database at https://sam.gov/ to start doing business with the federal government.