Air Force Research Laboratory

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Air Force Research Laboratory

AFRL emblem

Established: October, 1997
Commander: Maj Gen Curtis Bedke
Vice-Commander: Col David Glade
US Military Budget: $2.4 billion (2006)
Employees: 4,200 civilian
1,200 military (2006)

The United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to the development of warfighting technologies.[1] The AFRL headquarters is at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Mission Statement

AFRL's published mission statement is:

AFRL's mission is leading the discovery, development and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for America's aerospace forces. It is a full-spectrum laboratory, responsible for planning and executing the Air Force' science and technology program. AFRL leads a worldwide government, industry and academia partnership in the discovery, development and delivery of a wide range of revolutionary technology. The laboratory provides leading-edge warfighting capabilities keeping our air, space and cyberspace forces the world's best. [2]

History

Prior to the formation of the four "super" laboratories in 1990, each directorate had very unique histories. In most cases each AFRL research site has it's own history as it was transfered through various reorganizations and mergers before it finally ended up in one of the four precursors to the current AFRL organization.

The laboratory, as it exists now, was created in October 1997 through the consolidation of four former Air Force laboratories and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). The originating laboratories were the Phillips Laboratory headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, Rome Laboratory in Rome, New York, and Armstrong Laboratory in San Antonio, Texas.

The History Office of the AFRL is located at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The History Directorate is under the jurisdiction of the AFRL HQ. It employs three full time historians, an archivist, and a number of interns. The archives contain lab histories as well as histories of Wright-Patterson lab facilities.

Directorates

AFRL sites

The laboratory is divided into 8 Technical Directorates, one wing, and the Office of Scientific Research based on different areas of research. AFOSR is primarily a funding body for external research while the other directorates perform research in-house or under contract to external entities.

Each technical directorate also typically has three support divisions in addition to its research divisions. The Operations and Integration Division provides the directorate with well-conceived and executed business computing, human resource management, and business development services. The Financial Management Division manages the financial resources and the Procurement Division provides an in-house contracting capability.

Air Force Office of Scientific Research

  • Arlington, Virginia
  • London, United Kingdom
  • Tokyo, Japan

AFRL's contribution to research is "by investing in basic research efforts for the Air Force in relevant scientific areas."[3] This is done with private industry and academia, as well as with organizations in the Department of Defense and AFRL. The current Director of AFOSR is Dr. Brendan Godfrey.

AFOSR's research is organized into three scientific directorates: the Aerospace, Chemical, and Material Sciences Directorate, the Mathematics, Information, and Life Sciences Directorate, and the Physics and Electronics Directorate.[4] Each directorate funds research activities which it believes will enable the technological superiority of the USAF.

AFOSR also maintains two foreign technology offices located in the UK and Japan. These overseas offices coordinate with the international scientific and engineering community to allow for better collaboration between the community and Air Force personnel.

Air Vehicles Directorate

Martin-Marietta X-24B

The Air Vehicles Directorate's vision is on "technology investments that support cost-effective, survivable aerospace vehicles capable of accurate and quick delivery of a variety of future weapons or cargo anywhere in the world." [2] Typically, the Directorate researches areas related to aerodynamics and controls for use in aircraft, while air vehicle propulsion system research is handled by the Propulsion Directorate. Historically, research performed has contributed to the development of stealth technology, lifting body aircraft, and reconfigurable wing surfaces. The current Director of the Air Vehicles Directorate is Colonel John B. Wissler.

The Air Vehicles Directorate has previously collaborated with NASA in the X-24 project to research concepts associated with lifting body type aircraft which contributed to the development of the Space Shuttle's unpowered re-entry and landing technique. More recently, the Directorate is also collaborating with NASA Langley Research Center on the X-48 project to study characteristics of blended wing body type aircraft[5] and, in 2002, initiated the X-53 program in cooperation with NASA Dryden Flight Research Center and Boeing Phantom Works to research ways to make more efficient use of the wing's planform during high-speed maneuvers.[6] The Directorate is also a collaborator with DARPA on the FALCON program, including the Blackswift flight demonstration vehicle.

Directed Energy Directorate

YAL-1 in flight.

The mission of the Directed Energy Directorate "is the Air Force's center of excellence for high power microwave technology and the Department of Defense's center of expertise for laser development, including semiconductor, gas, chemical and solid-state lasers."[2] The current Director of the Directed Energy Directorate is Ms. Susan J. Thornton.

The Starfire Optical Range at Kirtland AFB, North Oscura Peak on White Sands Missile Range, and the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing observatory (AMOS) are also operated by divisions of the Directed Energy Directorate in addition to their facilities at the Directorate's headquarters at Kirtland AFB. The Starfire Optical Range is used to research various topics of advanced tracking using lasers as well as studies of atmospheric physics which examines atmospheric effects which can distort laser beams.[7] North Oscura Peak is used to research the various technologies necessary to facilitate successful tracking and destruction of an incoming missile via a laser and is used frequently for laser-based missile defense tests.[8] AMOS provides computational resources to AFRL, Department of Defense as well as other agencies of the US Government.[9]

Directed Energy projects typically fall into two categories: laser and microwave. Laser projects range from completely non-lethal targeting lasers to dazzlers such as the Saber 203 used by US forces during the Somali Civil War and the more recent PHaSR dazzler[10] to powerful missile defense lasers such as the chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) used in the YAL-1A project now led by the Missile Defense Agency. Microwave technologies are being advanced for use against both electronics and personnel. One example of an anti-personnel microwave project is the "less-than-lethal" Active Denial System which uses high powered microwaves to penetrate less than a millimeter into the target's skin where the nerve endings are located.

There have been a number of human rights controversies involving the products of directed energy research. Going back as far as 1995, there were arguments that laser dazzlers could potentially cause permanent blindness in targets. The Human Rights Watch proposed that all tactical laser weapons should be scrapped and research stopped by all interested governments.[11] These same concerns were revived with the announcement of the PHaSR project. Laser weapons aren't the only products to face human rights scrutiny. The Active Denial System has also been the target of Amnesty International as well as, less directly, a United Nations special rapporteur.[12]

711th Human Performance Wing

In March 2008, the Human Effectiveness Directorate was merged with the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine and the Human Performance Integration Directorate to form the 711th Human Performance Wing.[13] In its vision statement, the Directorate includes the goals of "integrating personnel with systems technology," and "protecting the force." Towards fulfilling those goals, the 711th HPW performs research to "define human capabilities, vulnerabilities, and effectiveness." The current Director of the 711th is Mr. Thomas S. Wells. One practical application of its work is ensuring the safety of ejection systems for pilots, and it has been working to protect airmen since 1931. Advanced manikins equipped with numerous sensors are used to establish injury thresholds and stress tolerances necessary for the design and implementation of aircraft and their systems. With the increasing number of females in the Air Force ranks, anthropometry is of greater import now than ever, and 711th's WB-4 'whole-body scanner' enables swift and accurate acquisition of anthropometric data which may be used to design pilot equipment with a better fit for comfort and safety.[14]

Information Directorate

  • Rome Research Site, New York

The mission of the Information Directorate is "to lead the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting information technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace force." [15] The current Director of the Information Directorate is Dr. Donald W. Hanson. The Directorate is based at the site of the former Rome Air Development Center which was merged into AFRL in 1997. In addition to the supporting divisions, there are four research divisions in the Information Directorate: Information and Intelligence Exploitation, Information Grid, Information Systems, and Advanced Computing.[16] Each division contributes to the overall goal of enhancing the sensing and information handling capabilities of deployed Air Force personnel.

The Information Directorate has contributed research to a number of technologies which have been deployed in the field. These projects include collaboration with other agencies in the development of ARPANET, the predecessor of the Internet, as well as technologies used in the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System which is a key aspect of theater command and control for combat commanders.[15] The Directorate also collaborated with the Department of Justice performing research on voice stress analysis technologies.[17]

Materials and Manufacturing Directorate

The AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate develops materials, processes, and advanced manufacturing technologies for aerospace systems and their components.[18] The Directorate works to improve Air Force capabilities in manufacturing and materials research technologies. In 2006, an AFRL project to improve the strength of C-17 landing gear doors using composite materials was completed in cooperation with Boeing.[19] AFRL has also been conducting research into friction stir welding for use in attaching difficult to weld materials together.[20] In 2008, the Air Force announced that the Directorate had developed a method of using fabric made of fiber optic material in a friend or foe identification system.[21]

Munitions Directorate

The mission of the Munitions Directorate is to "develop, demonstrate and transition science and technology for air-launched munitions for defeating ground fixed, mobile/relocatable, air and space targets to assure pre-eminence of U.S. air and space forces."[2]

The Munitions Directorate is the Air Force's primary research and development organization for aircraft-based projectile weaponry, such as bombs and missiles. Their work includes munition guidance systems and advanced explosives. Notable projects which have been made public include the GBU-28 "bunker-buster" bomb which debuted during the 1991 Persian Gulf War in Iraq.[22] The Directorate also developed the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb which was deployed during the 2003 invasion of Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. This bomb produces a blast so big it was confused with a nuclear detonation by nearly every group which viewed the demonstration video.

Propulsion Directorate

X-51 Waverider ScramJet

The mission of the Propulsion Directorate is "to create and transition propulsion and power technology for military dominance of air and space." [23] The Propulsion Directorate has historically been the largest directorate within AFRL. Research areas range from experimental rocket propulsion to developing thrust vectoring technologies used in the F119 engines of the F-22 Raptor fighter. At Edwards, the Directorate's test area is located east of Rogers Lake.

The Propulsion Directorate at AFRL was formed through the merger of the aerospace propulsion section at Wright Laboratory and the space propulsion section at Phillips Laboratory. Each sections, both before and after the merger, have played significant roles in past and present propulsion systems. Prior to the development of Project Apollo by NASA, the Air Force worked on the development and testing of the F-1 rocket engine used in the Saturn V rocket. The facilities for testing rockets are frequently used for testing new rocket engines including the RS-68 engine developed for use on the Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle. The space propulsion area also develops technologies for use in satellites on-orbit to alter their orbits. An AFRL developed test electric propulsion system was flown on the ARGOS satellite in 1999.

The Directorate currently manages the X-51A program, which is developing a scramjet demonstration vehicle.[24] In January 2008, the Directorate's experimental pulse detonation engine successfully completed it's first test flight on a significantly modified Scaled Composites Long-EZ aircraft.[25]

Sensors Directorate

The Sensors Directorate's vision is to provide a full range of air and space sensors, networked to the warfighter, providing a complete and timely picture of the battlespace enabling precision targeting of the enemy and protection friendly air and space assets. Its core technology areas include: radar, active and passive electro-optical targeting systems, navigation aids, automatic target recognition, sensor fusion, threat warning and threat countermeasures.[2] The divisions currently located at Hanscom AFB and Rome Research Site are scheduled to move to Wright-Patterson AFB under the Defense Base Realignment and Closure, 2005 Commission.

The Directorate is composed of 7 divisions which research a variety of sensor technologies. They have contributed significantly to the Integrated Structure is Sensor (ISIS) project managed by DARPA which is a project to develop a missile tracking airship.[26] In June 2008, the Air Force announced that scientists working for the Sensors Directorate had demonstrated transparent transistors. These could eventually be used to develop technologies such as "video image displays and coatings for windows, visors and windshields; electrical interconnects for future integrated multi-mode, remote sensing, focal plane arrays; high-speed microwave devices and circuits for telecommunications and radar transceivers; and semi-transparent, touch-sensitive screens for emerging multi-touch interface technologies."[27]

Space Vehicles Directorate

Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS)

The Space Vehicles Directorate serves as the Air Force's "Center of Excellence" for space research and development. It 's mission is to "develop and transition high pay-off space technologies supporting the warfighter while leveraging commercial, civil and other government capabilities to ensure America's advantage." [28] The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program located near Gakona, Alaska is also jointly operated by the Space Vehicles Directorate as well as other military research organizations and universities to conduct ionospheric research.

The Battlespace Environment division currently located at Hanscom AFB is scheduled to move to Kirtland AFB under the Defense Base Realignment and Closure, 2005 Commission. The realignment is scheduled to be completed once facilities have been built at Kirtland to support the division.

The Directorate has contributed to advancing a variety of technologies used in spacecraft. The IBM RAD6000 radiation hardened single board computer, now produced by BAE Systems, was initially developed in a collaboration with the Space Electronics and Protection Branch and IBM Federal Systems. It is now used on approximately 200 satellites and robotic spacecraft, including on the twin Mars Exploration Rovers— Spirit and Opportunity. In November 2005, the AFRL XSS-11 satellite demonstrator received Popular Science's "Best of What's New" award in the Aviation and Space category. [29] The Space Vehicles Directorate is also a leading collaborator in the Department of Defense Operationally Responsive Space Office's Tactical Satellite Program and led the development of TacSat-2, TacSat-3, and is leading the development of TacSat-5. They also have contributed experimental sensors to TacSat-1 and TacSat-4 which were developed by the Naval Research Laboratory's Center for Space Technology. The University Nanosatellite Program [30], a satellite design and fabrication competition for universities jointly administered by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, AFRL, and the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, is also managed by the Space Vehicles Directorate's Spacecraft Technology division. The fourth iteration of the competition was completed in March 2007 with the selection of Cornell University's CUSat as the winner.[31]

See also

Related agencies

References

Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: http://www.afrl.af.mil

  1. ^ US Air Force. "Air Force Research Laboratory" (HTML). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  2. ^ a b c d e US Air Force. "Factsheets : Air Force Research Laboratory" (HTML). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  3. ^ US Air Force. "Factsheets : AFOSR : About - Mission" (HTML). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  4. ^ US Air Force. "AFOSR Fact Sheet" (HTML). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  5. ^ "Boeing Flies Blended Wing Body Research Aircraft" (HTML). Boeing. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  6. ^ Cole, William. "Let's Twist Again! : Technology that enables wing 'warping' rolled out at Dryden" (HTML). Boeing Frontiers Online. Boeing. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
  7. ^ US Air Force (2006-12-01). "Lasers, microwave technology among AFRL's Directed Energy Directorate's works" (HTML). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  8. ^ US Air Force. "North Oscura Peak Factsheet" (PDF). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  9. ^ US Air Force. "About AMOS" (HTML). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  10. ^ Knight, Will (2005-11-07). "US military sets laser PHASRs to stun" (HTML). New Scientist. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
  11. ^ "U.S. Blinding Laser Weapons" (HTML). Human Rights Watch Arms Project. Human Rights Watch. 1995. Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  12. ^ Wright, Steve (2006-10-05). "Targeting the pain business". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  13. ^ US Air Force. "711th Human Performance Wing" (HTML). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  14. ^ US Air Force. "Wright-Patterson Air Force Base - Human Effectiveness". AFRL. Archived from the original (HTML) on 2007-06-29. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  15. ^ a b US Air Force. "AFRL Information Directorate Overview" (PPT). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  16. ^ US Air Force. "Factsheets : AFRL/RI Organizations" (HTML). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  17. ^ Air Force News Service (1997-09-23). "Voice stress analysis evaluation begins" (HTML). Retrieved 2008-07-06.
  18. ^ US Air Force. "AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate". AFRL. Archived from the original (HTML) on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
  19. ^ AFRL. "AFRL Improves Durability For C-17 Main Landing Gear Doors" (HTML). US Air Force. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  20. ^ AFRL. "Friction Stir Welding Provides Advantages Over Conventional Fusion Welding Process" (HTML). US Air Force. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  21. ^ Cooper, Mindy (2008-01-24). "Air Force develops friend vs. foe identification system" (HTML). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  22. ^ AFRL. "Factsheets : AFRL Munitions Directorate History" (HTML). US Air Force. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  23. ^ US Air Force. "Introduction to Air Force Research Laboratory Propulsion Directorate" (PDF). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  24. ^ Boeing (2007-06-01). "Successful Design Review and Engine Test Bring Boeing X-51A Closer to Flight" (HTML). Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  25. ^ Barr, Larine. "Pulsed detonation engine flies into history" (HTML). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
  26. ^ Staff Writers (2006-05-22). "AFRL Awards ISIS Contracts To Northrup Grumman" (HTML). Space Daily. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  27. ^ Lachance, Molly (2008-06-19). "Air Force Scientists Develop Transparent Transistors" (HTML). Space Mart. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  28. ^ US Air Force. "AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate Fact Sheet" (HTML). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  29. ^ "Experimental Satellite System 11 (XSS-11)". Popular Science. 2005. Archived from the original (HTML) on 2007-05-27. Retrieved 2008-07-06. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2006-12-12 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  30. ^ US Air Force. "University Nanosatellite Program" (HTML). AFRL. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  31. ^ "Cornell University Chosen to Build Nanosat-4 Flight Experiment" (PDF). AIAA. 2007-04-02. Retrieved 2008-07-10.

External links

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