The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking to forge a methodology for reducing the time it takes vendors to develop new materials for various missions by 75 percent.DARPA plans to consolidate materials science, computational materials engineering, engineering, design, analysis and manufacturing principles under the Materials Development for Platforms program, DARPA said Thursday.
The goal is to cut new materials development time from 10 years to at most three years.
“In this program, we want to move from the current mindset of sporadic ‘pushes’ in materials technology development to a mindset that ‘pulls’ materials technology forward driven by platform design intent and mission need,†said Mick Maher, DARPA program manager.
“We want to reach out to potential performers in all of the relevant scientific and engineering communities—and from both large companies and small businesses—so they can team together to create the most effective solutions possible,†Maher added.
DARPA wants to test the development concept on the design of a hypersonic vehicle outer aerodynamic shell.
