Metal-Coated Obscurant Fiber Packaging for Efficient Dissemination Technology

To address the Army need for a low-cost manufacturing process to pack metal-coated fibers to high density while allowing for efficient dissemination, Intellisense Systems, Inc. (Intellisense) proposes to develop a new Metal-Coated Obscurant Fiber Packaging for Efficient Dissemination (MOPED) Technology. The innovations in the deposition of slip/protection layer, precise fiber cutting into dipoles, and dipole insertion into a cartridge will enable a long storage life of packed dipole chaff with no cold welding or adhesion of densely packed adjacent dipoles. The improved MOPED technology will provide packaging density over 50% of theoretically possible density and will ensure efficient dissemination of ejected dipoles without agglomeration and clumping, thus providing better obscuration of military platforms. In Phase I, Intellisense will demonstrate the feasibility of improved technology with Ni-coated carbon fibers by fabricating and delivering several densely packed prototypes to the Army. In Phase II, Intellisense plans to optimize technology for packaging of copper-coated carbon fibers and to demonstrate its scalability for large volume production. We will also demonstrate the improved dissemination efficiency and longevity of densely packed metal-coated carbon fiber dipole obscurants utilizing an accelerated aging storage technique.