Air-Droppable At-Sea In-Water Lifting System Navy SBIR FY2015.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2015.1 Topic No.: N151-061 Topic Title: Air-Droppable At-Sea In-Water Lifting System Proposal No.: N151-061-1048 Firm: TurnAround Factor 7847 Riverside Dr Richmond, Virginia 23225-1037 Contact: Matthew Roy Phone: (804) 878-8328 Abstract: To support Advanced Force Sea-Basing (AFSB) efforts, the TAF Lifter's innovative Heave Compensating air-droppable self-deploying lifting ramp matches the motion of semi-submerged ISO containers and safely pulls them on deck. The TAF Lifter utilizes the buoyancy of the ship and ensures a safe standoff distance of retrieved cargo. It works "out of the box" with a wide range of ships and easily adapts to a large variety of mission needs, including small craft or AUV launch and recovery. With its smart controls, mooring the Lifter to ship and lifting ISO containers to deck requires minimal crew effort. Its power pack and winch are modular and can removed based on mission parameters. The TAF Lifter can be pre-positioned in higher sea states due to its stable configuration. Benefits: The TAF Lifter offers a low-cost solution for ISO container lifting to support sea-basing by using MSC ships. The TAF Lifter enables contingency plans operating from alternative platforms such as reserve fleet ships. In addition, the TAF Lifter is very compelling for Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief as well launch and recovery of small boats and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), a rapidly expanding market for both military and industry. Given the variety of AUVs that must be deployed from a wide range of ships, the TAF Lifter's combination of the Gentle Grip system and heave compensation provide a flexible solution. Return