Drop-Stitch Rapid Expandable Mobile Shelter (REMS) for Mission Command

Current military deployable shelters require soldiers to spend large periods of time on setup and take down rather than focusing on their combat missions. With the Army moving to a more expeditionary focus, existing shelter systems have significant disadvantages that make them unsuitable for high-tempo operational missions. Navatek will advance the state-of-the-art for rapidly-deployable shelters by using drop-stitch panels as the primary material for the shelter. Drop-stitch material is an offset fabric that, when coated and inflated, creates very stiff, flat panels; when deflated, they can be as low as 5% of the total inflated volume. In this program, we will demonstrate that a combination of drop-stitch fabric and proper coatings can be combined to create a rapidly inflated/deflated, thermally-insulated shelter that meets all of the MILSPECS for temperature, waterproof, fireproof, and life cycle requirements.