AN/ALE-47 Dispenser Assembly Retaining System

The AN/ALE-47 Countermeasures Dispenser System is found in almost all of the U.S. Navy"s over 3,700 active aircraft. There is a significant opportunity to improve the safety and timeliness of magazine switching. The current design involves four threaded bolts that are timely to install and require careful inspection before moving to the next unit; the time spent installing is direct face time with thirty live rounds. An area of improvement is developing replacement fasteners that involve innovative securing and positive locking capabilities for rapid replacement and inspection of AN/ALE-47 magazines. The proposed Prototype Productions, Inc. (PPI) innovation is a superior fastening system with safe, rapid installation and positive locking engineered from a feasibility study of proprietary designs and concepts wit the integration of state-of-the-art fastening technology. Due to the high utilization of the AN/ALE-47 CMDS, PPI is mitigating implementation costs of its technology by designing a"swap out"fastener to directly replace the current threaded bolt and receptacle. Considerations on safety and performance will be of upmost priority during the development phase. The proposed technical feasibility study includes a report on state-of-the-art fastening systems, the chosen engineered concept, potential applications, and proof-of-concept process with functional model (Phase I), and a development, testing, and integration roadmap for the selected concept (Phase II).