AFA: Air, Space & Cyber Conference – 2024

ACHIEVING DECISIVE ADVANTAGE IN THE AGE OF GROWING THREATS

AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference is a premier event for the U.S. Air and Space Forces and the aerospace and defense industry that supports them. A leading professional development event, ASC attracts important audiences for AFRL including, DOD personnel, industry and academia. The conference provides first-class professional military development, facilitates sharing of emerging requirements and technologies, and helps fuel connections that advance the cause of air and space power. AFRL’s participation positions us as key innovators in accelerating capability through technological superiority.

AFRL is dedicated to ensuring the warfighter wins by helping DoD and DAF leaders to better understand what it takes for AFRL to maintain technological superiority for the U.S. and our allies.

AFRL is hosting a booth with examples of integrated capabilities:

  GRASSHOPPER

• A cost-efficient, air-dropped, autonomously-navigated glider that delivers material to operators on the ground. The program leverages low-cost manufacturing techniques to keep production costs at ~$40k per vehicle to provide an asymmetric capability for cargo delivery. The Grasshopper team is accelerating the capability timeline by establishing a close interaction between AFRL and AFSOC users that facilitates immediate customer feedback and rapid flight testing. LEARN MORE
• Explore: INTEGRATED CAPABILITIES

  LOW COST ATTRITABLE AIRCRAFT PLATFORM SHARING (LCAAPS)

• Leverages best practices of consumer industries to rapidly develop and build autonomous collaborative platforms (ACP) in large numbers. The goal is to achieve affordable mass by streamlining the design and development process. XQ-67A proves the feasibility of this approach and demonstrates how wholly new acquisition processes can deliver capability to the warfighter more quickly and efficiently. LEARN MORE
• Explore: AEROSPACE SYSTEMS

  NAVIGATION TECHNOLOGY SATELLITE – 3 (NTS–3)

• An experimental platform designed to demonstrate technologies to increase resiliency, robustness and re-programmability of Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) functionality in space. AFRL is accelerating innovation by transforming the satellite navigation architecture to be reprogrammable both on-orbit and in the field, which enables new capabilities to support the warfighter faster through software updates rather than recapitalization. NTS-3 will mature technologies like the advanced timekeeping system that can detect and mitigate atomic clock faults without direct operator intervention. NTS-3’s software-defined receiver, known as Global Navigation Satellite System Test Architecture (GNSSTA), can receive and process new navigation signals that improve performance for U.S. forces in the presence of GPS interference or spoofing. LEARN MORE
• Explore: SPACE

  GALLIUM NITRIDE DEVICE

• A semiconductor technology that marks a pivotal advancement in radio frequency sensing, enhancing radar, electronic warfare and communications capability ubiquitously across Department of Defense platforms. AFRL developed GaN materials and device technology internally and leveraged national programs to build a robust and needed domestic supply chain. AFRL now continues to co-develop GaN technology with industry, accelerating delivery of next generation sensing systems for the warfighter. LEARN MORE
• Explore: SENSORS

  AEROMORPH

• An AFRL University Center of Excellence (UCoE) that performs fundamental multidisciplinary research to endow future supersonic and hypersonic weapons with game-changing performance through active morphing without significant size, weight, or power penalties. The unique approach is to embed a self-contained sense-assess-response morphing process into the material and structure. With AFRL’s strategic foresight, the AEROMORPH UCoE lays the foundation for transition of active morphing in high-speed systems as an integrated capability to AFRL, becoming the basis for future AFRL programs that enable the warfighter to outpace our adversaries through superior weapons performance and Air Superiority. LEARN MORE
• Explore: BASIC RESEARCH

  MISSILE UTILITY TRANSFORMATION via ARTICULATED NOSE TECH (MUTANT)

• An articulation control actuation system (ACAS) technology that increases missile effectiveness at longer range against moving targets through active, rapid, and smooth pivoting of the missile forebody. This enables the warfighter to destroy air targets at scale, with higher confidence and fewer weapons. Based on clear and significant military utility and sufficient technology readiness, MUTANT seeks to transition through industry and change AFRL’s technology push to a pull from Air Force acquisition offices and combatant commands. LEARN MORE
• Explore: MUNITIONS

ABOUT AFRL

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace forces. With a workforce of 11,000+ across nine technology areas and 40 other operations worldwide, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development.

Within AFRL, scientists and engineers collaborate to execute crosscutting research and development. External collaboration, including partnerships with industry, academia and other agencies, is also an integral part of AFRL’s business model. Through this integrated, cooperative approach, AFRL seamlessly supports the science and technology (S&T) needs of two services: the Air Force and the Space Force. Today’s global threats require multi-disciplinary solutions, and AFRL is committed to supporting the warfighter in every key domain.

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EXPLORE AND LEARN MORE ABOUT AFRL

AFRL reimagines what’s possible by leading scientific research and development for the Air Force and Space Force.

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