• F-35A instructor pilots qualify in aerial refueling

    The initial cadre of F-35A Lightning II instructor pilots qualified in aerial refueling last week, adding another capability for student pilot training at the 33rd Fighter Wing's F-35 Integrated Training Center here."Eleven pilots had flown 14 refueling missions across the boom with the help of a

  • Airmen group confronts sexual assault within Air Force

    Leading a new charge to confront serious issues facing military members throughout the Air Force is a group of energetic and motivated young Airmen with the Air Force Junior Support (AFJS), an organization recently formed here. AFJS was founded by a group of enlisted Airmen to address important

  • New Microwave Window Results in Better All-Around Systems

    Air Force Research Laboratory scientists and engineers and Voss Scientific have successfully developed a high-power microwave vacuum/pressure interface using a broadband design that provides excellent multipactor mitigation. This new window design substantially improves the ruggedization and

  • Novel Technology Takes Great Step Forward with Success in Flight

    The Air Force Research Laboratory's radiation-hardened Xilinx Virtex 5QV Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) has been deemed a success after flying with Sandia National Labs Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE-8) since May 2011. No single-event upset errors were detected in the

  • AFRL Expands STEM Educational Outreach in New Mexico

    The Air Force Research Laboratory has expanded its STEM efforts in the Rio Grade Corridor, joining in an educational partnership agreement with the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. The partnership agreement facilitates collaborative research opportunities between AFRL and the

  • Experimental "Surfing" Formation Reduces Fuel Use, Cost

    As part of the Surfing Aircraft Vortices for Energy ($AVE) project, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) performed test flights that demonstrated how modifications to C-17 Formation Flight System (FFS) software allow pilots to "surf" the vortex of a lead plane for long distances, thereby

  • AFRL Researcher Awarded Patent for Flight Positioning System

    The Air Force Research Lab's William Blake secured a US patent for an innovative flight positioning system that has already played a critical role in a recent Air Force fuel-reduction demonstration.By studying the wake of KC-135 aircraft involved in a recent AFRL Automated Aerial Refueling flight

  • Electrical Distribution Technology Improves Aircraft Safety

    The Air Force Research Laboratory, in conjunction with GE Aviation Systems, has demonstrated a revolutionary new technology that improves flight safety by improving flight-critical electrical system response. In aircraft, nearly all flight-critical electrical systems are routed through an Electrical

  • AFRL Advances Hypersonic Research Through HIFiRE

    The Air Force Research Laboratory recently took another step toward a greater understanding of hypersonic flight with the successful launch of an experimental vehicle as part of the HIFiRE project.HIFiRE, which stands for Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation, is an effort to