
COMPOSITE BULKHEAD DEVELOPMENT FOR UNMANNED COMBAT AERIAL VEHICLES
SBIR Phase II Contract:
Under a $750,000 SBIR Phase 2 contract with the United States Air Force, Atomic-6 developed composite bulkheads for Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs), with end users including two major defense primes. The project focused on utilizing a unique closed mold design to enable the production of complex geometries with lower costs and enhanced performance. Atomic-6 successfully developed a manufacturing process that reduced surface porosity on challenging geometries, met the target flyaway cost of the structure, and achieved up to a 15% performance increase over industry standards. The process also improved manufacturability and repeatability for high production rates. Future efforts will focus on continuous manufacturing optimization to meet the growing demand for high-performance, cost-effective aerospace components, with potential applications in the USAF Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.

Atomic-6 CEO, Trevor Smith, poses in front of National Composites Center Building