TURNAROUND FACTOR, INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: DLA161-001
TURNAROUND FACTOR, INC. — SBIR Phase II award from Department of Defense.
Phase II SBIR prototype / development signal
- Phase II is where Department of Defense funds deeper R&D after feasibility. Incumbents with Phase II history are serious competitors on adjacent topics.
- Use this award as past-performance context and to map customer organizations for STRATFI/TACFI-style transition planning.
- Obligated amount $999,931 is consistent with substantial Phase II-scale effort; compare to related awards from the same agency.
- Topic code DLA161-001 links this award to a solicitation family — search the same topic stem for incumbents and recompete timing.
- Amount
- $999,931
- Agency
- Department of Defense · Defense Logistics Agency
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase II
- Topic
- DLA161-001
- Solicitation
- 16.1
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- VA
- Period
- 2022-06-23 → 2023-12-22
Description
Diminishing manufacturing source problems continue to cause shortages for critical DoD weapons systems, negatively impacting readiness. Subcomponents become obsolete and manufacturers go out of business, and it becomes difficult for the government to acquire approved parts at a fair or reasonable price — or at any price. This is the case for a range of Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd) battery NSNs identified by DLA previousiously manufactured by AVEX, a small defense contractor that recently ended operations. These NSNs are a critical part in more than 41 separate weapons systems. Additionally, these packs are all based on Ni-Cd chemistry cells. Ni-Cd chemistries are being phased out in the commercial market, with only a handful of manufacturers remaining, primarily in China. TAF will initially provide replacement Ni-Cd cell packs for 7 NSNs, including TDPs and SARs. In addition, TAF will also design, build, and test functional prototypes to add a straightforward upgrade path for ESAs to Alternate Chemistries (e.g., lithium) for a subset of these NSNs. TAF’s incremental approach will ensure a continued source of supply for the existing Ni-Cd packs for ESAs that may prefer to use Ni-Cd for as long as possible. TAF’s approach will also provide more flexible ESAs a rapid “way out” toward options with longer support life (eg, lithium chemistries) that can be sourced domestically.