Durable Foreign Object Debris (FOD) Screens for Air Cushion Vehicles

The large, heavy Foreign Object Debris (FOD) screens on the Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) Air Cushion Vehicle (ACV) provide critical protection and safety for the propulsor engines and personnel. Unfortunately, these critical safety FOD screens are excessively heavy (238.81 kg), costly both in capital expense and fuel loading, and prone to corrosion due to the harsh salt-water, sand, high winds, vibration, and high-impact environment. Therefore, the Navy is seeking a 10% weight reduction in the FOD screens as well as improvement in their protection from corrosion. METSS proposes to use advanced, lightweight, high-strength netting materials to dramatically reduce the FOD screen weight, overcome corrosion issues, reduce installation, maintenance and overall costs, and improve opportunities to fix, repair, or replace the FOD screen during operations. Using this approach, METSS believes the weight reduction could achieve > 90% versus the targeted 10% in the solicitation.