The laboratory is divided into eight Technical Directorates, one wing, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) 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. The Operations and Integration Division provides the directorate with well-conceived and executed business computing, human resource management, and business development services while the Financial Management Division manages the financial resources and the Procurement Division provides an in-house contracting capability. The support divisions at any given location frequently work together to minimize overhead at any given research site. Each division is then further broken down into branches, roughly equivalent to a military
squadron. Superimposed on the overall AFRL structure are the eight detachments. Each
detachment is composed of the AFRL military personnel at any given geographical location. For example, the personnel at Wright-Patterson AFB are all part of Detachment 1. Each detachment will typically also have a unit commander separate from the directorate and division structure.
Headquarters AFRL Located at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, AFRL Headquarters houses the commanders and staff for the laboratories (q.v.). Its primary responsibilities are leadership, policy and guidance; unifying the common objectives of the eight Technical Directorates, the 711th wing, and AFOSR. The staff functions include Public Relations, Strategic Communication, Business Outreach, Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE), Technology Transition, Transformation, Contracting and a High-Performance Computing Center. HQ also includes the
Center for Rapid Innovation, which handles urgent operational requests from commanders of
Air Force Space Command,
Air Force Global Strike Command,
Air Mobility Command, and others.
Air Force Office of Scientific Research The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), located in
Arlington, Virginia, invests in basic research efforts for the Air Force by funding investigation in relevant scientific areas. Each directorate funds research activities that it believes will enable the technological superiority of the Air Force. AFOSR also maintains three foreign technology offices located in London, UK (the European Office of Aerospace Research & Development),
Tokyo, Japan, and
Santiago, Chile. These overseas offices coordinate with the international scientific and engineering community to allow for better collaboration between the community and Air Force personnel. AFOSR is one of the sponsors of the
University Nanosatellite Program.
Air Vehicles Directorate The Air Vehicles Directorate, located at Wright-Patterson AFB, has the mission of developing technologies that support cost-effective and survivable aerospace vehicles capable of accurate and quick delivery of a variety of future weapons or cargo anywhere. The Directorate has previously collaborated with
NASA in the
X-24 project to research concepts associated with
lifting body type aircraft. The X-24 was one of a series of experimental aircraft, including the
M2-F1,
M2-F2,
HL-10, and
HL-20, by NASA and Air Force programs to develop the lifting body concept into maturity. The tests conducted during these programs led to the choice of an unpowered landing for the
Space Shuttle program. In 2002, the Directorate initiated the
X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing program in cooperation with NASA's
Dryden Flight Research Center and
Boeing Phantom Works to research ways to make more efficient use of the wing surface during high-speed maneuvers. The Directorate is also a collaborator with
DARPA, the U.S. Air Force
Space and Missile Systems Center,
Sandia National Laboratories and AFRL's
Space Vehicles Directorate on the
FALCON program, which includes the
HTV-3X Blackswift hypersonic flight demonstration vehicle. The Air Vehicles Directorate also collaborated with NASA and
Boeing on the initial work for the
X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and the 80% scaled version,
X-40A Space Maneuver Vehicle, prior to the classification of the program and its transfer from NASA to DARPA in late 2004. The X-37 program is now managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. Another recent project managed by the Air Vehicles Directorate is the
Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft program begun in 2007. This is an experimental, composite aircraft program with a goal of demonstrating the feasibility of the development of a cargo airframe constructed primary of lightweight composite materials. AFRL intends to gain X-plane designation for the program once flight tests begin. The
VTHL Reusable Booster System program was initiated by the
USAF in 2010. In 2012, the Air Vehicles Directorate merged with the Propulsion Directorate to become Aerospace Systems Directorate.
Directed Energy Directorate In addition to serving as the Air Force's Center of Excellence for high power microwave technology, the Directed Energy Directorate is also the Department of Defense's Center of Expertise for laser development of all types. 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. 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. AMOS provides space observation capabilities and computational resources to AFRL, the Department of Defense and other agencies of the US Government. 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, 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. A continuation of the Airborne Laser experiment is also being conducted in the form of the
Advanced Tactical Laser, which is a
Special Forces demonstrator project to mount a COIL system in a tactical
AC-130 gunship. 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. Going back as far as 1995, there were arguments that laser dazzlers could potentially cause permanent blindness in targets, and these same concerns were revived with the announcement of the PHaSR project, which is claimed to be a non-blinding laser weapon. The Active Denial System has also been the target of
Amnesty International as well as, less directly, a United Nations special rapporteur as being a potential weapon of torture.
711th Human Performance Wing In March 2008, AFRL's Human Effectiveness Directorate located at Wright-Patterson AFB was merged with the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine and the Human Performance Integration Directorate from the
311th Human Systems Wing both located at
Brooks City-Base, Texas to form the
711th Human Performance Wing. In its vision statement, the wing includes the goals of improving aerospace medicine, science and technology, and human systems integration. One practical application of its work is ensuring and advancing the safety of ejection systems for pilots. With the increasing number of females in the Air Force ranks,
anthropometry is of greater import now than ever, and 711th's WB4 '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.
Information Directorate The mission of the Information Directorate, located at the Rome Research Site on the Griffiss Business and Technology Park in
Rome, New York, is to lead the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting information technologies for air, space, and cyberspace forces. 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. The Directorate also collaborated with the
Department of Justice performing research on
voice stress analysis technologies.
Materials and Manufacturing Directorate The Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, located at Wright-Patterson AFB and
Tyndall AFB, develops materials, processes, and advanced manufacturing technologies for
aerospace systems and their components to improve Air Force capabilities in these areas. In 1962, The Directorate began the search for high performance magnets. In 1969, Dr. Karl J. Strnat and his team had determined that a Yttrium Cobalt (YCo5) and the AFRL awarded contracts for manufacturing. This was the first
Rare-earth magnet. In 2003, the Directorate announced a new manufacturing method for use producing the turbine exhaust casing for the
F119 jet engine used on the
F-22 Raptor stealth fighter which will result in an estimated savings of 35% of the cost while also improving the durability. In collaboration with
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, the Directorate helped develop a new laser-based ultrasonic scanner to inspect composite parts also for use on the F-22. The Directorate also developed an advanced
thermoplastic composite material for use in the
landing gear doors on the F-22.
Munitions Directorate The mission of the Munitions Directorate, located at
Eglin AFB, Florida, 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." 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 and was the largest non-nuclear air-delivered munitions at that time.
Propulsion Directorate The mission of the Propulsion Directorate, located at Wright-Patterson AFB and
Edwards Air Force Base, is "to create and transition propulsion and power technology for military dominance of air and space." Research areas range from experimental rocket propulsion to developing the first ever
lithium-ion main aircraft battery for use in the
B-2 stealth bomber. At Edwards AFB, the
Directorate's test area is located east of Rogers Lake. The Propulsion Directorate was formed through the merger of the aerospace propulsion section at Wright Laboratory and the space propulsion section at Phillips Laboratory. Each section, both before and after the merger, has played a significant role 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 to power the
Saturn V rocket. The facilities for testing rockets are frequently used for testing new rocket engines including the
RS-68 rocket engine developed for use on the
Delta IV launch vehicle. The space propulsion area also develops technologies for use in satellites on-orbit to alter their orbits. An AFRL-developed experimental
Electric Propulsion Space Experiment
arcjet was flown on the
ARGOS satellite in 1999 as part of the Air Force
Space Test Program. The Directorate currently manages the
X-51A program, which is developing a
scramjet demonstration vehicle. The X-51 program is working to develop a flight demonstrator for a
hypersonic cruise missile which could reach anywhere on the globe in an hour. In January 2008, the Directorate used a modified
Scaled Composites Long-EZ aircraft to demonstrate that a
pulse detonation engine could successfully power flight. That aircraft has now been transferred to the
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB for display.
Sensors Directorate The mission of the Sensors Directorate, located at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, 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 and 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. The divisions formerly located at Hanscom AFB and Rome Research Site moved to Wright-Patterson AFB under the Defense
Base Realignment and Closure, 2005 Commission. The Directorate has contributed significantly to the
Integrated Sensor is Structure (ISIS) project managed by DARPA which is a project to develop a missile tracking airship. 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."
Space Vehicles Directorate ) The mission of the Space Vehicles Directorate is to develop and transition space technologies for more effective, more affordable warfighter missions. The current director is Col David Goldstein. The Battlespace Environment Division formerly located at Hanscom AFB moved to a new Research lab facility at Kirtland AFB in 2011–2012 as directed under the Defense
Base Realignment and Closure, 2005 Commission. 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. The Space Vehicles Directorate is also a leading collaborator in the Department of Defense
Operationally Responsive Space Office's
Tactical Satellite Program and served as program manager for the development of
TacSat-2,
TacSat-3, and is current program manager for the development of
TacSat-5. They also have contributed experimental sensors to
TacSat-4 which is managed by the NRL's Center for Space Technology. The
University Nanosatellite Program, a satellite design and fabrication competition for universities jointly administered by the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), AFOSR, AFRL, and the
Space Development and Test Wing, 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. Previous winners of the competition were
University of Texas at Austin's
Formation Autonomy Spacecraft with Thrust, Relnav, Attitude, and Crosslink (FASTRAC) for Nanosat-3 and the joint
3 Corner Satellite (3CS) project by the
University of Colorado at Boulder,
Arizona State University and
New Mexico State University for Nanosat-2. , only the 3CS spacecraft has launched, however FASTRAC has a launch tentatively scheduled for December 2009. The Space University Research Initiative (SURI) is a collaborative research program sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and the AFRL Chief Technologist Office to foster engagement among the Department of Defense, academia, and the aerospace industry. The initiative supports multidisciplinary basic and applied research to transition critical aerospace concepts into advanced technologies. The program and its initial consortium awards were officially announced on December 17, 2021. The inaugural SURI project, aimed at breaking the traditional "launch once, use once" paradigm through on-orbit servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (OSAM), was awarded to a consortium managed by
Carnegie Mellon University,
Texas A&M University, the
University of New Mexico, and
Northrop Grumman Corporation. As the first team to manage this initiative, these organizations play an essential role in developing systems for the intelligent inspection and maintenance of space assets. Within this partnership,
University of New Mexico serves a core operational role in advanced robotics manipulation, utilizing smart algorithms developed by its PhD research team to enable complex robotic interactions with non-rigid satellites in orbit. By enabling the repair and upgrading of existing infrastructure, these technologies are designed to significantly prolong the operational lifespan of U.S. space devices, yielding multi-million-dollar cost savings by reducing the need for replacement launches. Furthermore, this research accelerates both domestic and global space development by establishing foundational capabilities for sustainable space operations. The program's advancements in autonomous robotics also contribute to broader terrestrial safety efforts by offering viable methodologies for active space debris mitigation and the management of orbital hazards, thereby supporting the long-term security and viability of space environments for humanity. The Directorate has indirectly faced significant controversy over the HAARP project. While the project claims to be developed only for studying the effects of ionospheric disruption on communications, navigation, and power systems, many suspect it of being developed as a prototype for a
"Star Wars" type of weapon system. Still others are more concerned with the environmental impact to migratory birds of beaming thousands of watts of power into the atmosphere. In 2020, the Space Vehicles Directorate announced the creation of a new Deployable Structures Laboratory (DeSel) focused on developing high-strength materials and satellite structures at Kirtland Air Force Base. ==List of commanders==