• Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft Makes First Flight

    The famed "Skunk Works®" advanced development program launched a new era of aircraft manufacturing technology and performance with the successful flight of the Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft, a vehicle developed jointly by Air Force Research Laboratory and Lockheed Martin. Conducted at US Air

  • Successful Launch for AFRL TacSat-3 Satellite

    An Air Force Minotaur I rocket launched the Air Force Research Laboratory's TacSat-3 satellite, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's PharmaSat microsatellite, and NASA's CubeSat Technology Demonstration experiments into low earth orbit. The launch team declared the event successful after

  • SecDEF announces return of KC-X program

    Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced the return of the KC-X program to the Air Force during the 2009 Air Force Association Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition at the National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Md., Sept. 16. The announcement sparked applause as KC-X, the Air Force's tanker

  • CSAF to attend USAF Marathon

    In another historical first, Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff, is scheduled to attend the U.S. Air Force Marathon on Sept. 19. General Schwartz's attendance marks the first time the service's most senior officer will attend the event, which is in its 13th year. The general, an avid

  • SBIR On Board With Engine Health Management

    A successfully demonstrated Small Business Innovation Research outcome could ultimately pay dividends in the area of maintaining aircraft engine health, specifically in the fielding of low-cost, onboard, integrated engine health management systems for monitoring engine vibration and other key

  • Conductive Ink Energizes Solar Use for Soldiers

    Check your pockets--you just might be sporting a novel technology that boosts your personal capacity to harvest solar energy power for your critical communication, navigation/location-finding, and other portable--and in some cases, wearable--devices. The main ingredient of this emergent capability

  • Affordable RadHard Components a Modified Foundry Away

    Absolutely integral to Department of Defense space missions, radiation-hardened electronics technology just got a little less costly to manufacture on a large-scale basis. The advance comes with Air Force Research Laboratory's demonstration of an innovative technique for modifying a high-volume,

  • Air Force Estimates Nearly $300 Million in Engine Rotor Cost Avoidance

    Air Force Research Laboratory's Engine Rotor Life Extension program engineers are making significant headway in reducing aircraft engine maintenance, repair, and overhaul costs. Overall, the ERLE program nets a nearly $300 million life-cycle cost avoidance for engine rotor MRO. It does so by safely

  • Robotic Technology Development a "Fuel-Filling" Endeavor

    Air Force Research Laboratory materials experts are exploiting robotics technology to create a capability that will significantly improve the safety of personnel engaged in aircraft ground refueling activities. While ground refueling equipment has improved over time, the operation itself remains

  • Robot-Assisted Convoys a Rolling Reality

    A novel robotic package developed for use aboard military convoy vehicles enables greatly improved vigilance and safety for mobile personnel. Developed by Air Force Research Laboratory, the University of Florida, and Autonomous Solutions, Inc., the technology allows designated personnel within the