SCRA Applied R&D today announced the award of a $2.8 million contract by the U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) Aviation Development Directorate. The contract is to develop representative composite structures to meet weight and structural requirements for future vertical lift aircraft. The contract will be executed over a two year period.

The SCRA-led team, which includes Aurora Flight Sciences and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, will leverage and advance a large body of prior government-funded advanced materials research to develop representative composite structures for vertical lift vehicles. Composite Structures offer significant weight, performance and sustainment advantages enabling enhanced mission capabilities.

“We are delighted to have received this contract,” said SCRA Applied R&D President Chris Van Metre. “The award builds upon extensive work the Applied R&D sector has accomplished and shows our value to the Department of Defense. We look forward to providing advanced material solutions to meet future aviation needs.”

About SCRA
SCRA is an applied research corporation with over 30 years of experience delivering technology solutions with high returns on investment to federal and corporate clients. To fulfill our mission, SCRA has three sectors: our Technology Ventures sector helps early-stage companies to commercialize innovations and create jobs, our Applied R&D sector manages national and international R&D programs worth over $2 billion in contract value and our R&D Facilities sector builds and manages research facilities that include wet labs, secure rooms for sensitive work and advanced, high-tech manufacturing shops. Multiple economic impact studies show SCRA’s cumulative output on South Carolina’s economy to be over $15.3 billion.