• AFRL Develops Novel Ceramic-Based Body Armor

    AFRL materials scientists worked with Excera Materials Group (Columbus, Ohio) to develop a novel metal-ceramic hybrid material for use in high-performance, lightweight, low-cost small arms protective inserts (SAPI) for body armor vests. Excera Materials Group is the manufacturer of a unique ceramic

  • AFRL Successfully Tests small Unmanned Air Vehicles

    As part of the Cooperative Operations in Urban Terrain (COUNTER) project, AFRL scientists used unmanned air vehicles (UAV) to conduct flight tests designed to provide special operations forces with situational awareness in an urban environment. Small obscured urban targets are harder to detect from

  • AFRL Leads Falcon HTV-1 Model Tests

    The Falcon program, a joint effort between Air Force Space Command and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is an initiative focused on developing and validating technologies needed for prompt global reach while demonstrating affordable and responsive spacelift. The in-flight technologies

  • Cirrus Cloud Study Shows Laser Beam Impact

    AFRL scientists completed a study on the potential impacts that cirrus clouds have on airborne defensive laser systems. These laser systems have envisioned potential both in missile defense and in the engagement of theater ballistic missiles during their boost phase. However, high-energy lasers are

  • AFRL Successfully Tests Heat-Pipe-Cooled Leading Edges

    AFRL scientists completed thermal validation tests to verify the performance of a heat-pipe-cooled wing leading edge. The effort, which furthers the development of reliable, maneuverable space operating vehicle (SOV) technology, demonstrated a technology readiness level (TRL) increase, advancing the

  • AFRL Successfully Completes GDE-2 Testing

    AFRL engineers completed testing of the second-generation Ground Demonstration Engine, known as GDE-2, at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center's 8 ft high-temperature tunnel (Hampton, Virginia). The GDE-2 is a hydrocarbon-fueled supersonic combustion

  • AFRL Develops a Unified Taxonomy for Assessing Visionic Devices

    A cooperative effort between scientists at AFRL's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, facilities and the US Army's Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Fort Rucker, Alabama, produced more than 40 test methodologies for conducting laboratory evaluations of visionic devices. The key to properly

  • AFRL Invents Coherent Beam Combination Technique

    AFRL scientists invented a coherent beam combination technique--Locking of Optical Coherence by Single-Detector Electronic-Frequency Tagging (LOCSET)--that is scalable to a large number of array elements. Existing fiber amplifiers, which are suitable for high-quality beam combination, exhibit 400 W

  • AFRL Researcher Granted All-Cavity Magnetron Axial Extractor Patent

    AFRL directed energy expert Dr. Andrew Greenwood earned a US patent entitled "All-Cavity Magnetron Axial Extractor." The patented technology is a key enabler for packaging a relativistic magnetron high-power microwave (HPM) source into a compact, airborne platform. Previous schemes for extracting