The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research and development detachment of the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of direct-energy based aerospace warfighting technologies, planning and executing the Air Force science and technology program, and providing warfighting capabilities to United States air, space, and cyberspace forces. It controls the entire Air Force science and technology research budget which was $2.4 billion in 2006.

The Laboratory was formed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, on 31 October 1997 as a consolidation of four Air Force laboratory facilities (Wright, Phillips, Rome, and Armstrong) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under a unified command. The Laboratory is composed of eight technical directorates, one wing, and the Office of Scientific Research. Each technical directorate emphasizes a particular area of research within the AFRL mission which it specializes in performing experiments in conjunction with universities and contractors.

Since the Laboratory's formation in 1997, it has conducted numerous experiments and technical demonstrations in conjunction with NASA, Department of Energy, National Laboratories, DARPA, and other research organizations within the Department of Defense. Notable projects include the X-37, X-40, X-53, HTV-3X, YAL-1A, Advanced Tactical Laser, and the Tactical Satellite Program.

In 2009, it was reported that the Laboratory may face problems in the future as 40 percent of its workers are slated to retire over the next two decades, and since 1980, the United States has not produced enough science and engineering degrees to keep up with demand.

History The first act of United States funding for fixed wing, heavier than air aircraft (hot air balloons were used earlier) was when, in 1898 the Board of Fortifications allocated $50,000 (approximately $1,640,404.04 adjusted for inflation) to Samuel Langley for the development of airframes.  Several  prototypes were made but these were not effective.

On 10 February 1908, the US government issued a contract with the Wright brothers to purchase an aircraft for use in the Army Signal Corps.  

Despite this early momentum, the US was reluctant in spending large amounts of money on air power and fell behind.  France had spent US$7.4 million, and Germany had spent 5 million at the times rates, whereas the US had only spent 125,000 before 1914 (in 1914 dollars).

In 1916, funding was approved for the first national aeronautics laboratory in Hampton, VA, named after Langley, later made into Langley Air Force Base, now part of now the site of Joint Base Langley–Eustis.

Despite funding and development leading to significantly aircraft improvements, after World War I the funding for aeronautics engineering was cut significantly.130 Dean, 70; Misenko, 87; Holley, Ideas and Weapons, 152-153; Martin P. Claussen, "Materiel Research and Development in the Army Air Arm, 1914-1924"

In 1926, with the 1926 Air Corps Act, air power was recognized as its word division.  The predecessors to the air force lab were working on using novel materials to create aircraft components."Material Section"; McCook Field Escort Manual, 11-12. The predecessors to the air force research lab continued to develop new manufacturing and aerodynamic technologies until World War II.

In 1945, the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories were established. These laboratories were active from 1945 to 2011, following consolidation to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Kirtland Air Force Base under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The labs were founded as the Air Force Cambridge Research Center (AFCRC), a Cold War systems development organization which developed telephone modem communications for a Digital Radar Relay in 1949. (Edwards footnote 55 cites Harrington p. 370) Created by General Henry H. Arnold in 1945, AFCRC participated in Project Space Track and Semi-Automatic Ground Environment development.

The path to a consolidated Air Force Research Laboratory began with the passage of the Goldwater–Nichols Act which was designed to streamline the use of resources by the Department of Defense. In addition to this Act, the end of the Cold War began a period of budgetary and personnel reductions within the armed forces in preparation for a "stand-down" transition out of readiness for a global war with the Soviet Union. Prior to 1990, the Air Force laboratory system spread research out into 13 different laboratories and the Rome Air Development Center which each reported up two separate chains of command: a product center for personnel, and the Air Force Systems Command Director of Science & Technology for budgetary purposes.Duffner 2000: 18 Bowing to the constraints of a reduced budget and personnel, the Air Force merged the existing research laboratories into four "superlabs" in December 1990.Duffner 2000: 11 During this same time period, the Air Force Systems Command and Air Force Logistics Command merged to form Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) in July 1992.

+Air Force Laboratories Before and After 1990 MergerDuffner 2000: 12 Pre-Merger Post-Merger Weapons Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM Phillips LaboratoryKirtland AFB Geophysics Laboratory, Hanscom AFB, MA Astronautics Laboratory, Edwards AFB, CA Avionics Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH Wright LaboratoryWright-Patterson AFB Electronics Technology Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH Flight Dynamics Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH Material Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH Aero Propulsion and Power LaboratoryWright-Patterson AFB, OH Armament Laboratory, Eglin AFB, FL Rome Air Development CenterGriffiss AFB, NY Rome LaboratoryGriffiss AFB, NY Human Resources Laboratory, Brooks AFB, TX Armstrong LaboratoryBrooks AFB, TX Harry G. Armstrong AerospaceMedical Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH Drug Testing Laboratory, Brooks AFB, TX Occupational and EnvironmentalHealth Laboratory, Brooks AFB, TX

While the initial consolidation of Air Force laboratories reduced overhead and budgetary pressure, another push towards a unified laboratory structure came in the form of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996, Section 277. This section instructed the Department of Defense to produce a five-year plan for consolidation and restructuring of all defense laboratories. The currently existing laboratory structure was created in October 1997 through the consolidation of Phillips Laboratory headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, Rome Laboratory (formerly Rome Air Development Center) in Rome, New York, and Armstrong Laboratory in San Antonio, Texas and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR).Duffner 2000: 117 The single laboratory concept was developed and championed by Maj Gen Richard Paul, who was Director of Science & Technology for AFMC and Gen Henry Viccellio Jr, and then became the first Commander of AFRL.Duffner 2000: 38

With the merger of the laboratories into a single entity, the history offices at each site ceased to maintain independent histories and all history functions were transferred to a central History Office located at AFRL HQ at Wright-Patterson AFB.Duffner 2000: 257 In homage to the predecessor laboratories, the new organization named four of the research sites after the laboratories and assured that each laboratory's history would be preserved as inactivated units.Duffner 2000: 261

In 2023, the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence was completed to help the Laboratory, private companies, and local academics collaborate on the research of eVTOL and UAS aircraft.

Organization

The laboratory is divided into eight Technical Directorates, one wing, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) based on different areas of research. AFOSR is primarily a funding body for external research while the other directorates perform research in-house or under contract to external entities.

A directorate is roughly equivalent to a military wing. Each directorate is composed of a number of divisions and typically has at least three support divisions in addition to its research divisions.Duffner 2000: 190 The Operations and Integration Division provides the directorate with well-conceived and executed business computing, human resource management, and business development services while the Financial Management Division manages the financial resources and the Procurement Division provides an in-house contracting capability.Duffner 2000: 227–251 The support divisions at any given location frequently work together to minimize overhead at any given research site. Each division is then further broken down into branches, roughly equivalent to a military squadron.

Superimposed on the overall AFRL structure are the eight detachments. Each detachment is composed of the AFRL military personnel at any given geographical location.Duffner 2000: 262 For example, the personnel at Wright-Patterson AFB are all part of Detachment 1. Each detachment will typically also have a unit commander separate from the directorate and division structure.

Headquarters AFRL Located at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, AFRL Headquarters houses the commanders and staff for the laboratories (q.v.). Its primary responsibilities are leadership, policy and guidance; unifying the common objectives of the eight Technical Directorates, the 711th wing, and AFOSR. The staff functions include Public Relations, Strategic Communication, Business Outreach, Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE), Technology Transition, Transformation, Contracting and a High-Performance Computing Center. HQ also includes the Center for Rapid Innovation, which handles urgent operational requests from commanders of Air Force Space Command, Air Force Global Strike Command, Air Mobility Command, and others.

Air Force Office of Scientific Research The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), located in Arlington, Virginia, invests in basic research efforts for the Air Force by funding investigation in relevant scientific areas. This work is performed in cooperation with private industry, academia, and other organizations in the Department of Defense and AFRL Directorates.

AFOSR's research is organized into four scientific directorates: the Engineering and Complex Systems Directorate; the Information and Networks Directorate; the Physical Sciences Directorate; and the Chemistry and Biological Sciences Directorate. Each directorate funds research activities that it believes will enable the technological superiority of the Air Force.

AFOSR also maintains three foreign technology offices located in London, UK (the European Office of Aerospace Research & Development), Tokyo, Japan, and Santiago, Chile. These overseas offices coordinate with the international scientific and engineering community to allow for better collaboration between the community and Air Force personnel.

AFOSR is one of the sponsors of the University Nanosatellite Program.

Air Vehicles Directorate

The Air Vehicles Directorate, located at Wright-Patterson AFB, has the mission of developing technologies that support cost-effective and survivable aerospace vehicles capable of accurate and quick delivery of a variety of future weapons or cargo anywhere. The current director is Col Michael Hatfield.

The Directorate has previously collaborated with NASA in the X-24 project to research concepts associated with lifting body type aircraft. The X-24 was one of a series of experimental aircraft, including the M2-F1, M2-F2, HL-10, and HL-20, by NASA and Air Force programs to develop the lifting body concept into maturity. The tests conducted during these programs led to the choice of an unpowered landing for the Space Shuttle program.Reed 1997: 128