WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) announced a major redesign of its organizational structure to integrate and align research and development around key mission areas to speed the delivery of war-winning systems.
This transformation marks the most significant organizational change for AFRL in nearly 30 years. The redesign strengthens collaboration across the lab to accelerate the discovery, development and delivery of high-impact technologies.
“To provide credible deterrence and prepare for the fight, AFRL must be able to quickly adjust its research and development alongside changing requirements to support the winning capabilities needed by the Department of the Air Force and the nation,” said Lt. Gen. Linda S. Hurry, commander, Air Force Materiel Command. “This redesign will strengthen our ability to win as a team, ensuring readiness and modernization while delivering decisive advantages at speed and scale.”
The new structure organizes the lab into a more mission-focused enterprise, retaining technical excellence and allowing it to seamlessly integrate within the acquisition community. It eliminates duplicative overhead, fosters natural partnerships and streamlines structures and processes to improve responsiveness and better position the lab to deliver battlespace advantage.
The redesign features seven major organizations – five new directorates, an existing directorate with an expanded mission and a wing focused on human performance and training. All major AFRL organizations are operational.
The organizations are as follows:
- Foundational Technology Directorate
- Air Warfare Directorate
- Space Warfare Directorate
- Information and Spectrum Warfare Directorate
- Technology Transition Office
- Systems Technology Office
- 711th Human Performance Wing
The
Foundational Technology Directorate champions basic research and pervasive scientific advancement. By holistically looking at the scientific knowledge and breakthroughs that underpin AFRL’s technologies, the lab is better poised to develop new, effective technologies faster. This new directorate aligns the Human Effectiveness projects under the 711th Human Performance Wing with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the former Materials and Manufacturing Directorate.
Three new mission-oriented directorates, Air Warfare, Space Warfare, and Information and Spectrum Warfare, focus on technology maturation and reducing risk in their respective domains. Each directorate will develop warfighting solutions that span and work collectively across domains to develop systems of systems that ensure warfighters have the technology they need to win.
The Air Warfare Directorate unifies expertise from AFRL’s former Munitions Directorate and Aerospace Systems Directorate to develop advanced air combat technologies to ensure advantage in the battlespace.
The Space Warfare Directorate leverages expertise from AFRL’s former Space Vehicles Directorate and the Aerospace Systems Rocket Propulsion Division to pave the way for future satellite systems, rocket propulsion and space domain awareness capabilities.
The Information and Spectrum Warfare Directorate combines expertise from AFRL’s former Sensors Directorate, Directed Energy Directorate and Information Directorate to enable adaptive and resilient information dominance for warfighters.
The Technology Transition Office serves as AFRL's "system integrator." This directorate connects the lab, mission partners and industry directly to the acquisition community to accelerate technology system delivery. It integrates AFWERX, SpaceWERX and components of AFRL’s former Integrated Capabilities Directorate, Strategic Partnering Directorate and Enterprise Customer Engagement Directorate. The work accomplished by the Technology Transition Office will be leveraged by AFMC’s Integrated Development Office to ensure continuous pipelines of competitive technology development.
The Systems Technology Office and 711th Human Performance Wing are both continuing their existing missions within their current structures, advancing technology delivery and human performance solutions to strengthen warfighter readiness for the Department of the Air Force.
Brig. Gen. Jason E. Bartolomei, AFRL commander and Technology Executive Officer, emphasized that the redesign connects the lab’s experts more directly to the mission.
“Our priority at AFRL is to win the future again and again. This redesign is a forward-looking initiative to align our scientists, engineers and support teams with the operational challenges facing the Department of the Air Force,” Bartolomei said. “By building a more integrated enterprise, we are creating clear pathways to accelerate innovation and ensure our ideas become capabilities. We are not just creating technology; we are delivering technological systems to provide an advantage for the fight.”
AFRL leaders confirmed the redesign will not involve involuntary workforce reductions, relocations or site closures. All existing operating locations will remain part of the laboratory’s network of research sites.
About AFRL
The Air Force Research Laboratory is the Department of the Air Force’s primary scientific research and development center and one of six centers within Air Force Materiel Command. AFRL leads the discovery, development and delivery of technologies for air, space and the multidomain. With a workforce spanning seven mission areas at more than 40 locations worldwide, AFRL conducts research ranging from basic science to advanced technology development. For more information, visit afresearchlab.com.