A SBIR Phase I contract was awarded to Gs Engineering in February, 2018 for $124,894.0 USD from the U.S. Department of Defense and United States Navy.
Both the LVSR and MTVR have demonstrated technical issues related to mobility, fuel economy, and safety, with the brake systems on both platforms contributing to these concerns. The combination of corrosion, brake system weight, physical brake system packaging, and inherent design and material characteristics impacts safety, performance, operational availability, maintenance time, logistics and total vehicle ownership costs.Integration of a novel brake system technology is proposed to reduce the technical braking issues related to mobility, fuel economy, and safety, as well as reduce total ownership cost of USMC vehicles. The novel technology is centered on a patent-protected lightweight aluminum (Al) metal matrix composite (MMC) brake drum coupled with a reformulated brake lining friction material that provides a direct replacement option for standard cast grey iron or steel brake drum and brake lining pairings.