Review of the U.S. Department of Defense Air, Space, and Supporting Information Systems Science and Technology Program

Review of the U.S. Department of Defense Air, Space, and Supporting Information Systems Science and Technology Program PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2001-09-05

Total Pages: 82

ISBN-13: 0309170532

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Since the mid-1940s, when Vannevar Bush and Theodore von Karman wrote Science, the Endless Frontier and Toward New Horizons, respectively, there has been a consensus that strong Department of Defense support of science and technology (S&T) is important to the security of the United States. During the Cold War, as it faced technologically capable adversaries whose forces potentially outnumbered U.S. forces, the United States relied on a strong defense S&T program to support the development of technologically superior weapons and systems that would enable it to prevail in the event of conflict. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has relied on its technological superiority to maintain a military advantage while at the same time reducing the size of its forces. Over the past half-century, creating and maintaining a technologically superior military capability have become fundamental to U.S. national security strategy, and investment in S&T has become a basic component of the defense budget. In late 1998, Congress asked the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study, in cooperation with the National Research Council (NRC), on the S&T base of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Congress was particularly concerned about areas of the S&T program related to air systems, space systems, and supporting information systems. Its concern was based on the Air Force's reduction of its S&T program from the largest of the three military service programs to the smallest. Congress also wanted to ensure that the Air Force maintained an appropriately sized S&T workforce. In late 1999, the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology asked the NRC to conduct a study to explore these issues.

Review and Evaluation of the Air Force Hypersonic Technology Program

Review and Evaluation of the Air Force Hypersonic Technology Program PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1998-09-05

Total Pages: 76

ISBN-13: 0309061423

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This study was undertaken in response to a request by the U.S. Air Force that the National Research Council (NRC) examine whether the technologies that underlie the concept of a hypersonic, air-launched, air-breathing, hydrocarbon-fueled missile with speeds up to Mach 81 can be demonstrated in time to be initially operational by 2015. To conduct the study, the NRC appointed the Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Air Force Hypersonic Technology Program, under the auspices of the Air Force Science and Technology Board.

Improving the Air Force Scientific Discovery Mission

Improving the Air Force Scientific Discovery Mission PDF

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2015-09-25

Total Pages: 94

ISBN-13: 0309378338

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In 2015, the Air Force Studies Board conducted a workshop, consisting of two data-gathering sessions, to review current research practices employed by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). Improving the Air Force Scientific Discovery Mission summarizes the presentations and discussions of these two sessions. This report explores the unique drivers associated with management of a 6.1 basic research portfolio in the Department of Defense and investigates current and future practices that may further the effective and efficient management of basic research on behalf of the Air Force

Air Force Research Laboratory Success Stories. A Review Of 2002

Air Force Research Laboratory Success Stories. A Review Of 2002 PDF

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2002-01-01

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 9781423522645

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

With a team of more than 5,200 scientists, engineers, and support personnel worldwide, the Air Force Research Laboratory is one of the most exciting organizations in the Air Force. AFRL team members are up close and personal with the discovery, development, and integration of cutting-edge technologies for today, tomorrow, and well into the future. AFRL is headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio and is the Air Force's largest employer of scientist and engineers-about 3,000-of which more than 800 have doctorate degrees in science and engineering disciplines. These highly skilled and motivated people are critical in leading our government- industry- university team and in making technological and scientific breakthroughs. Our scientists and engineers push the limits of air and space, bringing critical technologies forward into the realm of application. This world-class laboratory harnesses the innovative ideas of the best minds in government, industry and academia to create the future of the Air Force. The men and women of AFRL defend America by unleashing the power of innovative science and technology. AFRL success Stories highlight the cutting-edge research performed within the laboratory. The following pages feature some of our most noteworthy successes during 2002. These stories are just the "tip of the iceberg" of AFRL technologies currently under development.

Science and technology the making of the Air Force Research Laboratory

Science and technology the making of the Air Force Research Laboratory PDF

Author:

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 1428990712

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This history documents a watershed event within the United States Air Force -- the creation of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). As the "high technology" service, the Air Force has always searched for ways to continuously improve its science and technology enterprise. In that context, the making of AFRL was not a bureaucratic accident. Rather, it was the product of a complex mixture of historical forces and pressures at work that convinced people at all levels that the time was ripe to bring about fundamental reform in how the Air Force conducts its business of science and technology. In terms of significance, a wealth of past studies has focused on almost every aspect of the "operational" side of the Air Force. But there has been a scarcity of available scholarly studies that address the far-reaching implications of science and technology. This book is a major contribution that helps fill that gap. Organization and infrastructure are critically important components of the total science and technology picture. Thus, the manner in which its laboratory system is organized is a critical factor in the Air Force's ability to assure that it is investing in and delivering the most relevant technologies possible. This book documents how the Air Force moved from 13 separate labs to one consolidated lab. The narrative is divided into two parts. Part one addresses the reasons why the Air Force decided to consolidate its far-flung science and technology enterprise into one lab. How the new lab was implemented is the focus of part two. This study is especially revealing because the reader is given access to the inner workings and struggles of a major Air Force organizational restructuring through interviews with key individuals who participated directly in the decision-making process to establish a single lab. A chronology of the lab's creation is included. (19 tables, 22 figures, 19 photographs).