Integrated capabilities for now and in the future
Air Force Research Laboratory
Leading the discovery, development and integration of affordable warfighting technologies in air, space and cyber.
The start of a new year serves as an opportunity to refocus on our goals and consider the past as we charge into the future.
Before we dive into this edition, let’s first reflect on our mission: to lead the discovery, development and delivery of warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace forces.?
AFRL stays focused on this mission by aligning our science and technology strategy with Air and Space Force priorities. We work together across domains and with partners to develop advanced technologies that lead to reliable, effective, integrated capabilities for our warfighters. These integrated capabilities are the key to ensuring our Airmen and Guardians have what they need to protect our nation now and well into the future.?
As part of an effort to accelerate the development of these capabilities, AFRL united four innovation-focused offices to form its Integrated Capabilities Directorate.?
This newsletter highlights two award-winning Integrated Capabilities programs that exemplify our mission, and the leaders who guided these programs to success.?
Also in this edition, watch the premiere of a new video series that showcases our dedicated employees and their accomplishments. At the bottom, we highlight career opportunities across the country.
Visit https://www.afresearchlab.com/careers to see all of our current openings.
2 AFRL Integrated Capabilities Directorate projects win Aviation Week Program Excellence Awards?
Each year, the Aviation Week Network honors programs that demonstrate excellence in execution – from commercial, space, and defense sectors around the globe — through its Program Excellence Awards.
“The Program Excellence Awards annually showcase innovative and impactful program managers and their creative and unique approaches in leading a team to excellence,” said Joe Anselmo, editorial director and editor-in-chief for Aviation Week. “These individuals, often far from the headlines, are the backbone of an industry that has a profound impact on the world.”
A panel of industry leaders from 11 aerospace companies judged each program nominated and awarded the following two AFRL programs with top honors.
Rapid Dragon
Lockheed Martin and the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation (SDPE) office received top honors for the Rapid Dragon Palletized Effects campaign at the Aviation Week Network 2023 Program Excellence Awards.
Rapid Dragon is a palletized effects experimentation campaign exploring the concept of airdropping long-range palletized weapons from unmodified existing airlift platforms, such as the C-130 and C-17. Rapid Dragon pallets are released from cargo planes before weapons are dropped and flown to intended targets.
Project managers cited in the Rapid Dragon award were Lockheed Martin’s Dr. Deanelle “Dee” Hidalgo, deputy director, Air-to-Ground Missile Systems/Rapid Dragon, and Dr. Dean Evans of the AFRL’s SDPE Office.
“The Rapid Dragon Program has been considered as an exemplar for how to do business differently while achieving success with speed,” Evans said. “This program is a prime example of a government-industry partnership that embraced a fly-often, learn-fast mindset; built a community of subject matter experts across the DOD and industry; and executed an aggressive but well-thought-out experimentation campaign that took calculated risks.’’
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SDPE Air Base Defense Experiment
Raytheon’s work on the SDPE Air Base Defense Experiment was also selected as the award winner in the Special Projects category, for its role in the Trident Elding 2022 test of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS, in Norway.
Jim Simonds, team lead for the SDPE Air Base Defense Experiment, said his project’s award is a testament to the dedication, ingenuity and technical expertise of the team.
“SDPE, Raytheon, Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace have worked closely over the past couple years to experiment with NASAMS integrated with USAF operationally relevant command and control capability,” Simonds said. “This Air Force/industry partnership has demonstrated the ability to rapidly experiment with proven prototypes to assess operational utility and inform strategic investment decisions.”
Trident Elding confirmed that multiple base defense weapon variants can be fired from a NASAMS launcher and integrated into Air Force command and control systems. Simonds said the Trident Elding experiment was an example of how DOD and defense contractors can work together to rapidly address critical warfighter needs.
“To generate combat air power and execute logistics under attack, we need to protect our personnel and equipment on the ground,” Simonds said. “This partnership resulted in a key experiment that clearly identified capabilities that are ready now, fully integrated and ready to do just that.”
We’re kicking off a new video series that highlights extraordinary people and the incredible work they do at AFRL with a familiar face — Dr. Nate Bridges.
Bridges began his career at AFRL as a student while working on his biomedical engineering degree, and was able to pursue his doctorate through the Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) scholarship program. The program, which offers scholarships for undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students pursuing STEM degrees, awards its recipients with full tuition, annual stipends, internships and guaranteed employment with the Department of Defense after graduation.?
Since then Bridges has worked his way up at the lab and now serves as a biomedical engineer and program lead at AFRL’s 711th Human Performance Wing. He’s passionate about the potential for his work in cognitive neuroscience to make a difference.
“I don’t think I’d be able to do that or have the same opportunities that I’ve had here to develop and grow as a leader as I would outside of the Air Force,” Bridges said.?
Watch the video above to learn more about Bridges’ role and his inspiring career journey. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more videos like these.?
Be part of an organization that makes positive changes in the world through cutting-edge science and technology. At AFRL, you’ll work with passionate teams in world-class labs and have the creative freedom to make an impact.?
“The bottom line is that you get to do things here that you can’t do other places,” Bridges said in the video above.
Take a look at our highlighted jobs below — click on a position that interests you or visit afresearchlab.com/careers to see all of our current openings.
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