LIGHTWEIGHT SEALED PARACHUTE AND HARNESS ASSEMBLY

THE CURRENT NAVY INVENTORY OF PARACHUTES USED FOR NON-EJECTION EGRESS FROM AIRCRAFT IS PRIMARILY THE NB-8 CONFIGURATION. THIS PARACHUTE SYSTEM IS RELATIVELY HEAVY AND HAS A HIGH LIFE CYCLE COST RELATED TO THE FUEL CONSUMPTION, LOSS OF PAYLOAD CAPABILITY, AND REPACKING AT 210-DAY INTERVALS. THE PROGRAM DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL WILL EXPLORE POTENTIAL CONCEPTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A LIGHTWEIGHT ENVIRONMENTALLY SEALED PARACHUTE AND HARNESS ASSEMBLY THAT WOULD ELIMINATE THE DRAWBACKS OF THE CURRENT NB-8 SYSTEM. THE PROPOSED PHASE I EFFORT WILL IDENTIFY CONCEPTS CAPABLE OF MEETING THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS: (1) MINIMUM REPACK CYCLE OF FIVE YEARS; (2) ENVIRONMENTALLY SEALED PARACHUTE; (3) QUICK-DONNING HARNESS; (4) TOTAL WEIGHT OF PARACHUTE AND HARNESS LESS THAN 17 LBS; (5) VERTICAL DESCENT RATE LESS THAN 24 FT/SEC WITH 265-LB SUSPENDED MASS; (6) ABILITY TO OPEN PARACHUTE UP TO 150 KNOTS AND (7) ABILITY FOR THE PARACHUTE TO GLIDE UPON COMMAND. THE PHASE I EFFORT WILL CULMINATE WITH THE SELECTION OF A CANDIDATE SYSTEM FOR FURTHER ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT AND WILL ALSO DEFINE SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PHASE II EFFORT.