Alcoa Defense Selected for its Innovative Lightweighting Solutions
- Five-year contract from U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) for combat vehicle research and development
- Builds on Alcoa-U.S. Army joint initiative to develop world’s largest single-piece forged aluminum hull for combat vehicles to improve troop protection
- Follows successful Alcoa-Army Lightweight Structures Initiative under which Alcoa developed aluminum solutions for ground combat and tactical vehicles from 2005 to 2013
Lightweight metals leader Alcoa (NYSE:AA) has been awarded a five-year
contract from the U.S. Army worth up to $50 million for R&D projects
focused on developing innovative, lightweighting solutions for ground
combat vehicles. The U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and
Engineering Center (TARDEC) awarded Alcoa Defense a “Ground Vehicle
Light-Weighting” contract to support efforts to accelerate technology
research and development and provide engineering solutions for
Department of Defense ground vehicles and intelligent ground systems.
“This agreement with TARDEC builds on Alcoa Defense’s decades-long
partnership with the U.S. Army to advance military ground vehicles,”
said Eric Roegner, President of Alcoa Defense. “Alcoa’s lightweight
solutions have improved troop protection while reducing vehicle weight
and assembly time. We look forward to building on our successful track
record to help develop the next generation combat vehicle.”
Alcoa’s first “work directive,” or project funded under the contract, is
an initiative to advance Alcoa-developed aluminum weld wire alloys.
These alloys have already been proven to increase the strength of welded
joints—typically the weakest point on a vehicle—as well as reduce
corrosion of those welded joints on combat vehicles. Under potential
future work directives, Alcoa will provide material research,
development, engineering, testing, and evaluation efforts related to
ground vehicle lightweighting. These research and development efforts
will address various technologies associated with lightweighting such as
aluminum forming technology, fastening and joining, modeling and
simulation, armor development, material development, material
fabrication, energy conservation, and coating and corrosion technology.
A Strong Track Record
Alcoa has built a strong track record of partnering with the U.S. Army
to develop solutions that advance the performance of ground combat
vehicles. In 2013, Alcoa announced a joint
Alcoa-U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) initiative to manufacture
the world’s biggest single-piece forged aluminum hull for combat
vehicles—the largest closed die forging ever made. This game-changing
forging replaces the lower hull of a combat vehicle, significantly
improving survivability over traditional welded hulls. In Army testing,
the monohull has performed exceptionally well in mitigating the effects
of blast events, such as those caused by Improvised Explosive Devices.
In 2005, the U.S.
Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) awarded Alcoa a
research, development and engineering contract to develop aluminum
structures for ground combat and tactical vehicles under the Army
Lightweight Structures Initiative. Alcoa delivered structural solutions
that provided on average 30 to 50 percent weight savings over baseline
designs.
About Alcoa
A global leader in lightweight metals technology, engineering and
manufacturing, Alcoa innovates multi-material solutions that advance our
world. Our technologies enhance transportation, from automotive and
commercial transport to air and space travel, and improve industrial and
consumer electronics products. We enable smart buildings, sustainable
food and beverage packaging, high-performance defense vehicles across
air, land and sea, deeper oil and gas drilling and more efficient power
generation. We pioneered the aluminum industry over 125 years ago, and
today, our more than 60,000 people in 30 countries deliver value-add
products made of titanium, nickel and aluminum, and produce
best-in-class bauxite, alumina and primary aluminum products. For more
information, visit www.alcoa.com,
follow @Alcoa on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Alcoa
and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Alcoa.
Alcoa has been a partner and supplier to the military for decades,
enabling high-performance defense vehicles across air, land and sea. It
is part of the Company’s innovative value-add business. For more
information on Alcoa Defense, please visit www.alcoa.com/defense.
About TARDEC
The U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering
Center (TARDEC) develops, integrates and sustains the right technology
solutions for all manned and unmanned Department of Defense ground
vehicle systems and combat service support equipment to improve the
effectiveness of our armed forces and provide superior capabilities for
our future armed forces. Headquartered at the U.S. Army Detroit Arsenal
in Warren, Mich., TARDEC is a major research, development and
engineering center for the Army Materiel Command’s Research, Development
and Engineering Command, and is an enterprise partner in the TACOM LCMC.
For more information, please visit our website at http://tardec.army.mil,
our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TARDEC,
or our Twitter page at www.army.mil/TARDEC
Disclaimer: Reference herein to any specific commercial company,
product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or
otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement,
recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or the
Department of the Army (DoA). The opinions of the authors expressed
herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States
Government or the DoA, and shall not be used for advertising or product
endorsement purposes.
As the author(s) is(are) not a Government employee(s), this document was
only reviewed for export controls, and improper Army association or
emblem usage considerations. All other legal considerations are the
responsibility of the author and his/her/their employer(s).
Alcoa
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Matt Garth, 212-836-2714
Matt.Garth@alcoa.com
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