RFI: Hybrid-Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) Technology

This notice is a follow-on to the Request for Information (RFI) Hybrid-Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) Technology, W911W6-24-RFI-0005, published July 16, 2024, on SAM.gov (https://sam.gov/opp/924c2b08df27463f92f7ea8accc857ad/view).

This notice is provided for information and planning purposes only. The intent is to further clarify the Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC) interests in hybrid-electric technologies ahead of a yet to be released Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Call for Hybrid-Electric VTOL Advanced Technology Development.

The motives for releasing a BAA Call with respect to this technology area are to:

• Enhance the Army’s technical knowledge and understanding of hybrid-electric technology for aviation systems and applications.


• Characterize the technical and programmatic risks associated with the transition of various hybrid-electric technologies.


• Demonstrate advancements in aviation platform capabilities, potential improvements to Army operations and warfighter benefits.


• Inform the Army’s aviation science and technology (S&T) strategy, requirements development, and acquisition planning.

The Government is interested in application of hybrid-electric technology to vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and very short take-off and landing (STOL) platforms that enhance existing or enable novel aviation capabilities. However, there is not a government-prescribed, best hybrid system configuration or technology set. Advanced technologies, to include fuel cells, may be considered.

The Government will not prescribe a “best approach” to meeting the research objectives. There is a spectrum of potentially acceptable ways to characterize technology. Examples may include integrated power system characterization, instrumented aircraft flight testing, and capability demonstration. Technical risk and maturity, cost, complexity, degree of characterization, payoff with respect to research objectives, and level of knowledge transfer are all factors to consider. Flight testing and demonstration is neither required nor prohibited. It will be up to the offeror to justify the merits of the technologies, configurations, and approaches.

Data-centric analytical studies, modeling, and data development through building-block technology characterization activities are important to informing the Army S&T strategy, requirements development, and acquisition planning, and as such, indicative of the type of knowledge products the Government anticipates.

Additional important points are:

• The activities funded by the BAA Call are pre-Milestone A.


• The release of the BAA Call is not predicated on, nor indicative of a future Army program of record (PoR).


• The Army has not published any validated requirements or operational needs statements for hybrid-electric systems for aviation.


• To bound the effort, the focus will be on the application of technology to hybrid VTOL and very short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft between 1320 lbs. and (approximately) 10,000 lbs. maximum take-off gross weight. Additional guidance will be provided in the BAA Call.


• The Government is particularly interested in integrated hybrid power architectures and systems, including any dependencies and coupling with other aircraft systems, aircraft designs and configurations, and characterization and demonstration of critical technologies and systems. (Note: Knowledge development should include characterizing integrated hybrid power implementation schemes to assess technical maturity and development needs; understanding failure modes and mitigations; exploring integration issues and challenges; and benchmarking weight, efficiencies, and performance.)


• The Government will provide notional military use cases and sizing points addressing various capabilities in an increasingly demanding sequence to explore design sensitivities and limitations. The use cases will be the basis for conceptual design studies with appropriately sized hybrid power systems and may require consideration of characteristics such as safety, reliability, hardening, crashworthiness, electromagnetic disruption, and cyber security. An “objective” aircraft conceptual design will also be desired as a product of this effort to best match technologies, configurations and capabilities.


• The Government recognizes that autonomy is likely to be a desirable capability for future aircraft, but autonomy development and demonstration is not the focus of this S&T funding.

Desired results from the effort are:

• Innovative application of hybrid-electric technology that enables novel or enhances typical VTOL (or very STOL) air vehicle capabilities through flight performance, fuel consumption efficiency, weight or aerodynamic efficiencies, modes of operation, survivability, affordability, or other operational advantages.


• Analysis and characterization testing of technology up through the integrated system level


• Data to support comprehensive technical knowledge transfer to the Government team for risk mitigation and technology maturation planning along with cost, engineering, and systems engineering models that support airworthiness and requirements development

• Data to support understanding of operations and organization concepts, business arrangements, intellectual property positions, considerations to support future program planning, and informing stakeholders (inside and outside the Government) of technology applications and results that justify further development and transition of this technology set.

The future BAA and Call may still evolve and should be read carefully when published to ensure responses meet requirements.

The Government anticipates the BAA Call will initially request concept papers instead of full proposals as part of a two-step process.

Responses to this RFI amendment are not requested however, clarification questions can be submitted by email to deanna.c.vancleaf-foreman.civ@army.mil and andrew.l.davis2.civ@army.mil until such time as a BAA Call is issued. Answers that are regarded as widely applicable may be posted on this site.