Phase I effort includes an evaluation of current requirements, a review of existing technology and new design/testing for fiber optic connector/splice field ternlination and repair techniques necessary in the Army helicopter environment. Recommendations were prepared for specific approaches in fiber connector and splice termination improvements with limited test results to verify the validity of the recommendations. This included cleave-after-crimp fiber optic connector termination and field fiber/cable splicing. Phase II effort is the expansion of the Phase I recommendations which will result in tooling and connector/splice component hardware to provide a complete fiber optic repair system for Army helicopters. Design emphasizes minimum skill in tight confines, within an environment having highly explosive, broad temperature range, humidity-extreme, vibration, shock and other potential existing conditions. The developed complete tooling and connector/splice prototypes will be simplified for field use in ruggedized applications. Deliverables include connectors, fiber optic termini and splices which are terminated using developed tooling and procedures. All tooling, components and written instructions will be fully developed, tested and delivered with final comprehensive reporting.
