Response Technologies is pleased to announce that it's Fuel Explosion Suppression material (FTES) and has been granted a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).

Response Technologies intends to build upon its Phase I SBIR success, by developing and demonstrating prototype FTES materials capable of meeting military requirements for fuel suppression, tear resistance, stability and flammability. Their work is projected to result in vast improvements over existing explosion suppression foams (ESF). The expected mission impact and outcomes of this project will shall provide NAVAIR with the ability to:

· Lower the weight of the foam and retained fuel by over 20%

· Reduce the amount of displaced fuel (e.g., lost fuel capacity) by over 50%.

· Deliver a 20% procurement cost reduction

· Double operating life due to fuel blend compatibility

· Improve the ease of installation and removal from aircraft fuel tanks

Under the proposed effort, RT shall manufacture four to eight prototypes for testing. Five additional rounds of testing and prototyping will seek to optimize the FTES, ultimately resulting in a product that meets the criteria required for qualification and commercialization.

"Fuel tank inerting technologies are a constant trade off between weight, reduced fuel capacity, maintenance costs, and survivability," said Ed Bard, co-founder of Response Technologies. "We're excited to deliver a non-compromising disruptive solution that also meets the demands required by today’s bio-fuel and synthetic fuel blends by continuing the development of our FAUXM fuel suppression foam.”