• Manufacturing Technology Program Reduces B-2 Bomber Fleet Maintenance Time

    The B-2 Systems Group initiated a major effort to improve the B-2 fleet mission capability (MC) rate. This effort involved the removal of the tape that covers access panel gaps and fasteners, followed by the replacement of the tape with a material known as alternate high-frequency material (AHFM).

  • AFRL Successfully Demonstrates High-Assurance Security Architecture

    AFRL is working with industry under the High-Assurance Security Architecture for Embedded Systems program to develop and advance the Multiple Independent Levels of Security/Safety (MILS) architecture, an enabling technology offering an affordable near-term solution to building high-assurance systems

  • AFRL Aids Memphis Belle Restoration Effort

    Second Lieutenant Grant Parker, of AFRL's Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, recommended a variety of paint strippers to the Restoration Division of the National Museum of the United States Air Force (NMUSAF) to aid restoration of the Memphis Belle aircraft. The restoration team estimates it

  • AFRL Supports CCID With Radio Frequency Tag Flight Tests

    AFRL conducted three radio frequency (RF) tag technical flight tests as part of an operational demonstration supporting the Coalition Combat Identification (CCID) technology demonstration. The test results were instrumental to modifying the radar software subsequently used during the final military

  • Data Collection Supports Sensors Development

    AFRL engineers conducted joint data collection with representatives from the Air Force Institute of Technology, Strategic Communications, and Los Alamos National Laboratory to support development of the Angel Fire airborne electro-optical sensor and the Goals, Objectives, Technical Challenges, and

  • Camera Trio Enhances Solar Storm Forecasting

    Every 100-plus minutes, while orbiting approximately 50 miles above the earth aboard the Coriolis satellite, the experimental Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) scans the darkness of space seeking sun-generated, magnetic particle clouds bound for earth. Since the SMEI became operational in January

  • AFRL Engineers Collaborate With DoD Cyber Crimes Center

    AFRL's Steganographic Intelligence (STEGINT) group is collaborating with the Department of Defense (DoD) Cyber Crime Center (DC3), Linthicum, Maryland, through research, transition, and information exchange sessions on steganographic technologies. The DC3 comprises three organizations: the Defense

  • AFRL Commences GDE-2 Testing

    AFRL engineers began testing 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 ramjet

  • AFRL Establishes AMIST for Focused Warhead Development

    AFRL and the Department of Energy's Kansas City Plant are collaborating to provide ordnance designers the initiation tools necessary for developing focused warheads, such as the dual-role munition. These advanced weapons will require an interdisciplinary technical solution that incorporates

  • AFRL Successfully Tests V-22 Flight Dynamics

    AFRL engineers completed successful wind tunnel tests of the V-22 Osprey, a 6%-scale model, to improve their understanding of the vehicle's flight characteristics. They tested the model in the vertical wind tunnel at different orientations; propeller speeds; and sideslip, nacelle, and blade angles.