DPA TITLE III SECURE HYBRID COMPOSITE SHIPPING CONTAINERS (SHCIC) | FOA AFRL RQKM 2017 0002

Opportunity Information: Apply for FOA AFRL RQKM 2017 0002

The DPA Title III Secure Hybrid Composite Shipping Containers (SHCIC) opportunity is a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) funding effort aimed at building and strengthening a U.S.-based industrial capability to manufacture secure hybrid composite intermodal shipping containers. In practical terms, the government is looking to ensure that the United States can reliably produce a specific type of advanced cargo container domestically, rather than depending on foreign sources or fragile supply chains. The focus is not simply on designing a new container on paper, but on establishing real, scalable production capability inside the country that can meet defense-related needs.

The grant is issued under the Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III authorities, which are typically used when the government wants to expand, modernize, or create domestic industrial capacity for materials or technologies considered important to national defense. For this project, the desired end state is a viable manufacturing base for secure hybrid composite intermodal containers. "Intermodal" implies containers designed to move efficiently across different transportation modes (for example, ship, rail, and truck) without unloading and reloading the contents, and "hybrid composite" suggests a container structure that uses composite materials in combination with other materials to balance strength, weight, durability, and cost. The "secure" aspect indicates the containers are intended to provide enhanced protection and integrity for contents, which can include deterrence of tampering and improved structural performance compared to conventional containers, depending on the requirements laid out in the full funding announcement.

The work emphasized by this opportunity centers on manufacturing readiness and production efficiency. The government highlights expansion and/or modernization of affordable production processes, meaning applicants are expected to propose ways to either scale up existing manufacturing lines or upgrade them to produce these containers more cost-effectively and consistently. This can include improvements in tooling, automation, quality control, process repeatability, material handling, and other factory-level capabilities that reduce unit cost and improve throughput. The language about "effective utilization of industrial manufacturing capabilities" signals that the program wants to leverage real-world industrial capacity and practical production know-how, not just laboratory experiments, with an eye toward building a dependable domestic supply.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity with a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument. A cooperative agreement generally means there will be substantial involvement from the government during the project, such as collaboration on technical direction, milestones, testing approaches, or transition planning. The funding activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and it is associated with CFDA number 12.800, which is commonly tied to Air Force research and development support. The sponsoring agency is the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, which means the opportunity is broadly open to qualified applicants rather than limited to a narrow applicant class. That said, projects of this type typically favor applicants that can credibly demonstrate access to manufacturing facilities, a supply chain for composite and related materials, and the ability to transition from development into sustained production. The expected number of awards is one, indicating a single recipient (or a prime recipient leading a team of partners) was anticipated, which often reflects the government's intent to concentrate resources on one integrated industrial solution rather than spreading funding across multiple small efforts.

Key identification details include the funding opportunity number FOA AFRL RQKM 2017 0002, with the original posting created on 2016-10-06 and an original closing date of 2017-02-28. The award ceiling is not specified in the provided data, so the full FOA would be the authoritative source for the total available funding, cost-sharing requirements if any, performance period, deliverables, and the specific technical and security requirements for the SHCIC. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as an industrial-base and manufacturing-capability push under DPA Title III, aimed at ensuring the U.S. can produce advanced, secure, composite-based intermodal shipping containers at scale using modern, affordable domestic production methods.

• The Air Force -- Research Lab in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DPA TITLE III SECURE HYBRID COMPOSITE SHIPPING CONTAINERS (SHCIC)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.800.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-10-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-02-28. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for FOA AFRL RQKM 2017 0002

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