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AFRL eyes development of next-generation textile for DAF uniforms

A trio of domesticated muskoxen stand at pasture at the Palmer Muskox Farm in Palmer, Alaska. DNA samples collected from muskoxen at the farm have been crucial to enabling research recently conducted in the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL’s, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate and the 711th Human Performance Wing on the viability of raw muskox wool fiber and synthetic muskox wool keratins for use in cold-weather military-grade textiles. Initial research indicates that raw muskox wool fibers — a material also known by the indigenous term qiviut — are preferred for their ability to lend enhanced thermal insulating properties to clothing. Muskoxen are genetically similar to goats and are one of very few prehistoric animals still in existence today, though they became extirpated, or virtually extinct, in Alaska by 1920. Relocation efforts brought muskoxen herds back to Alaska in the 1930s. The species thrives in the extremely cold and dry climate of the high Arctic. (Courtesy photo / Cornell University)

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AFRL, NASA partner with 8 universities for new Mission Concept Program

University Nanosat Program students present their work to reviewers from the Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, MDA, and Space Dynamics Lab in Albuquerque, N.M., Aug. 15, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Jesse Olson)

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AFWERX and USAFA Spark partner to offer training and networking to innovators

Airmen, cadets and Department of Defense partners attending the AFWERX sponsored Innovation Week event at the U.S. Air Force Academy listen to a CyberWorx presentation during a tour of the Academy campus, in Colorado Springs, Colo., March 20, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kacey Napier)

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AFWERX and USAFA Spark partner to offer training and networking to innovators

Airmen, cadets and Department of Defense partners participate in innovation training and networking exercises during the AFWERX sponsored Innovation Week event at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., March 22, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kacey Napier)

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AFRL successfully field-tests AI robot to improve DAF manufacturing capability

A multidisciplinary development team, comprised of Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, depot, industry and academia representatives, observes the successful first demonstration of an autonomous robotic incremental metal forming prototype, nicknamed AI-FORGE, at Warner-Robins Air Logistics Complex, Georgia, in late January 2023. Personnel from AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Ohio State University, the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute, Yaskawa Motoman, and CapSen Robotics collaborated to develop the robotic blacksmithing system, which uses incremental forming, a heat-assisted metalworking process that permits users to manufacture small lots of customized manufactured parts for military aircraft. During its initial test run, the artificially intelligent system operated autonomously without human interruption for over six hours.

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AFWERX and USAFA Spark partner to offer training and networking to innovators

Airmen, cadets and Department of Defense partners participate in innovation training and networking exercises during the AFWERX sponsored Innovation Week event at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., March 22, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo / Kacey Napier)

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220930-F-NI018-1254

Assorted mental health and caring agency promotional material rest on a tabletop. Air Force Materiel Command helping agencies are equipped to provide the support and care to individuals who seek help during times of need. (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo by Airman 1st Class William Pugh)

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Regional Network Hub-Midwest

Monica Poelking, deputy chief technology officer at Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, speaks during the kick off of the Regional Hub Network – Midwest opening ceremony April 21, 2023, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. The opening ceremony signified the beginning of a partnership between AFRL and Purdue University to collaborate on new science and technology innovations that the warfighter can use faster to keep the country safe. (U.S. Air Force photo / Aleah M. Castrejon)

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Regional Network Hub-Midwest

The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, partners with Purdue University to kick off the Regional Hub Network - Midwest opening ceremony April 21, 2023, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, announcing the first three projects: Passive control of hypersonic boundary layer turbulence via porous carbon-matrix ceramics with the collaborative team: Hysonic, AFRL, University of Dayton, University of Dayton Research Institute, Raytheon Technologies, Elevate Ventures; Effect of thermal deformation on reattachment heating overshoot with collaborative team: University of Notre Dame, The Ohio State University, AFRL; and Development of solid-fueled rotating detonation engines with collaborative team: Purdue University, USSF, Spectral Energies, Adranos. (U.S. Air Force photo / Aleah M. Castrejon)

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Regional Network Hub-Midwest

The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, partners with Purdue University to kick off the Regional Hub Network - Midwest opening ceremony April 21, 2023, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. While the ribbon cutting ceremony marked the official start of the partnership, AFRL and Purdue University have been collaborating for more than a year. Three projects were announced at the opening, and more projects are underway. The winners included: Passive control of hypersonic boundary layer turbulence via porous carbon-matrix ceramics with the collaborative team: Hysonic, AFRL, University of Dayton, University of Dayton Research Institute, Raytheon Technologies, Elevate Ventures; Effect of thermal deformation on reattachment heating overshoot with collaborative team: University of Notre Dame, The Ohio State University, AFRL; and Development of solid-fueled rotating detonation engines with collaborative team: Purdue University, USSF, Spectral Energies, Adranos. (U.S. Air Force photo / Aleah M. Castrejon)

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Regional Network Hub-Midwest

From left: Dr. Richard Vaia, chief scientist, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL; Mung Chiang, president, Purdue University; Monica Poelking, deputy chief technology officer at AFRL; and Dr. Karen Plaut, principal investigator, AFRL Regional Network Hub-Midwest, cut the ribbon during an opening ceremony for the partnership between AFRL and Purdue University to kick off the Regional Hub Network - Midwest April 21, 2023, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. (U.S. Air Force photo / Aleah M. Castrejon)

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Regional Network Hub-Midwest

Dr. Richard Vaia, chief scientist, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, speaks during the kick off of the Regional Hub Network - Midwest opening ceremony April 21, 2023, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. The opening ceremony signified the beginning of a partnership between AFRL and Purdue University to collaborate on new science and technology innovations that the warfighter can use faster to keep the country safe. (U.S. Air Force photo / Aleah M. Castrejon)

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Air Force pilots reach new program milestones in electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

Capt. Terrence McKenna, test and experimentation lead for Agility Prime with the 370th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS), an Air Force Reserve Command unit out of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., takes notes during a meeting. McKenna was one of four Air Force pilots that remotely flew a Joby S4 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft at the company’s Marina, California, manufacturing facility April 20. (Courtesy photo)

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Air Force pilots reach new program milestones in electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

The Joby S4 is a five-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. AFWERX Agility Prime announced April 25, 2023, that it has entered into a third extension of its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III contract with Joby. The extension enables options for Joby to deliver up to nine of its low acoustic signature, zero-operating emissions S4 aircraft to the Air Force and other government partners. The first two Joby aircraft will be delivered to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., before March 2024. (Courtesy photo)

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Air Force pilots reach new program milestones in electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

Capt. Terrence McKenna, test and experimentation lead for Agility Prime with the 370th Flight Test Squadron (FLTS), an Air Force Reserve Command unit out of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., trains in a Joby S4 simulator. The Joby S4 is a five-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. (Courtesy photo)

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Air Force pilots reach new program milestones in electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

George "Hank" Griffiths Jr., AFWERX chief of airworthiness and test, trains in a Joby S4 simulator. The Joby S4 is a five-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. (Courtesy photo)

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Air Force pilots reach new program milestones in electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

Maj. Mike Corson (left), 418th Flight Test Squadron commander, and Capt. Terrence McKenna, AFWERX Agility Prime test and experimentation lead, perform a pre-flight check on a Joby S4 aircraft. The Joby S4 is a five-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. (Courtesy photo)

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AFWERX

As the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force and powered by the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX accelerates agile and affordable capability transitions by teaming innovative technology developers with Airman and Guardian talent.

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AFRL re-ups affiliation with longtime liquid crystal industry partner to meet DOD needs

The image depicts AlphaMicron Inc., or AMI’s prototype progression over the course of 20 years. AMI’s first dimming proof of principle prototype from 1997 was eventually integrated into a Full Complex Curvature Helmet F-35 Visor prototype for the U.S. Department of the Air Force in 2017 to help mitigate pilots’ difficulties managing light transmission during flight. The initial collaboration between AFRL and AMI resulted in the creation of e-Tint, an electronic tint-on-demand liquid crystal technology that can be applied to flexible plastic substrates, such as pilot visors, instead of traditional glass. e-Tint switches from clear to dark faster than an eye can blink — about 0.1 of a second— and is fail-safe in a power outage. This technology was used to create the world's first electronic switchable eyewear which was field tested by the U.S. Army and is now being issued to soldiers through the Approved Protective Eyewear List.  In addition to current applications, the technology is being developed for augmented reality applications and see-through displays, where simultaneously controlling ambient and display light is important, said AMI’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bahman Taheri.(U.S. Air Force photo)

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AFRL re-ups affiliation with longtime liquid crystal industry partner to meet DOD needs

The graphic illustrates how reorienting liquid crystal (yellow) causes dichroic dye (red) to reorient along with it, which changes the transmission of light. In 1997, the U.S. Department of the Air Force identified a need for controlling visor tint in pilot eyewear. Visor tint was affected by light transmission when pilots would go above or below the clouds, as sudden washes of intense sunlight mid-flight impacted their ability to read and track the data on their aircraft-mounted and head-mounted displays. To address this safety issue, AFRL partnered with Kent State University-based AlphaMicron Inc., or AMI, a global leader in liquid crystal technology, to find a solution based on AMI’s proprietary polarizer-free, guest-host liquid crystal system known as e-Tint. AMI’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bahman Taheri likens this system to a molecular version of a Venetian blind. (Courtesy photo / AlphaMicron Inc.)

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