SEA CORP Receives Tibbets Award

WASHINGTON, DC - SEA CORP was among sixty-three small business winners from 47 states and the District of Columbia receiving the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) prestigious Tibbetts Award for their exemplary achievements in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The award is named for Roland Tibbetts, founder of SBA's SBIR program, in recognition of small businesses' superior achievements in innovation, research and technology. The awards were presented to the recipients during the Fifth Annual Tibbetts Award ceremony in Washington, DC.

SEA CORP's award recognizes its success in the area of new launcher system concepts for surface ships and submarines. In a three-year SBIR project, the "Modular Gas Generator Launch Canister," SEA CORP developed and tested a new concept for Navy shipboard launchers. This new concept replaces conventional high-pressure air and specially-designed explosive charges with commercially-available gas-generators used in automotive airbags.

For surface ships, the new gas-generator launcher makes possible a sealed and self-contained torpedo launch canister. Torpedo launchers currently in the fleet can also be modified to take advantage of the gas generator technology to reduce maintenance and increase operational readiness. On submarines, the concept can be applied to launch countermeasures (decoys) underwater, providing an environmentally friendly alternative to the hazardous and more expensive pyrotechnic devices now in use. The torpedo launcher has been thoroughly proven during several test launches of actual Navy torpedoes; SEA CORP now has a patent pending on its "Improved Torpedo Launch Mechanism and Method." The novel pressure-balanced submarine launcher has also been successfully demonstrated, with underwater launches of a large projectile. Additional potential applications for surface ships include various kinds of countermeasure launch devices, including an anti-torpedo torpedo.

Both the torpedo and countermeasure launcher applications show great promise for wide use in the U.S. and allied navies. The U.S. Navy recently commissioned a formal technology insertion program, providing SEA CORP with an additional $3.7 million to prove the feasibility of modifying current and planned surface ships with the new torpedo launch mechanism. In parallel with this funded effort, SEA CORP has teamed with a major Naval shipyard to formally propose that the submarine countermeasure launcher be fitted on future U.S. submarines. The Company also has a teaming arrangement in place with a major naval weapons system manufacturer to develop, manufacture and market a fully-modular torpedo launcher for the Navy's newest destroyer class.

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