The U.S. Air Force has awarded Southwest Research Institute a $250 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to support a study on aircraft systems and materials degradation due to operational use.
Work under the Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension research and development effort, also known as CAStLE, will be performed at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado and other U.S. locations through May 2032, the Department of Defense said Friday.
SwRI’s latest contract win builds on the USAF’s $99 million CAStLE IDIQ award to the nonprofit organization in 2021 to conduct research and engineering work on aging systems and materials.
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Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension Research Mission
CAStLE R&D projects aim to deliver critical science and technology data and tools required to understand the impact of material degradation in structural systems for various government, academic and commercial sponsors.
Its major projects are:
- Aircraft Structural Integrity Program engineering support for the sustainment of various DOD weapon systems
- Structural redesign, material substitution, prototyping and validation testing
- Digital transformation support and product lifecycle management for major weapon systems
- Fatigue testing of full-scale aircraft structural components
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