Conventional Munitions

Mission — Ordnance Technology source

This project investigates, develops, and evaluates conventional ordnance technologies to establish technical feasibility and military utility for advanced explosives, fuzes, warheads, sub-munitions, and weapon airframes, carriage, and dispensing. The project also assesses the lethality and effectiveness of current and planned conventional weapons technology programs and assesses target vulnerability. The payoffs include improved storage capability and transportation safety of fully assembled weapons, improved warhead and fuze effectiveness, improved sub-munitions dispensing, low-cost airframe/subsystem components and structures, and reduced aerospace vehicle and weapon drag.

Mission — Advanced Guidance Technology source

This project investigates, develops, and evaluates conventional munitions guidance technologies to establish technical feasibility and military utility of innovative munition seekers, weapon aerodynamics, navigation and control, and guidance subsystem integration/simulation. Project payoffs include adverse-weather, Global Positioning System (GPS)-degraded and Global Positioning System-denied, networked, and autonomous precision munition guidance capability; increased number of kills per sortie; increased aerospace vehicle survivability; improved weapon reliability and affordability; and improved weapon survivability and effectiveness.

Mission — Conventional Munitions source

This program investigates, develops, and establishes the technical feasibility and military utility of guidance and ordnance technologies for conventional munitions. The effort supports core technical competencies of munitions aerodynamics, guidance, navigation, and control; terminal seeker sciences; fuze technology; energetic materials; damage mechanisms; and munition systems effects. Technologies and associated models and simulation assets to be developed include seekers that provide high-confidence target discrimination and classification with precise target location and robust terminal tracking; navigation technologies that do not rely upon the Global Positioning System (GPS); blast, fragmentation, penetrating, low-collateral-damage, and multi-mission warheads; collaborative, synchronized fuzing; and high-performance and insensitive explosives. Funds in this PE may be used to investigate specified technology advancements in air, space and/or cyber domains. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is focused on high-impact, multi-domain science & technology (S&T) solutions that drive innovation now while laying the groundwork for the Air and Space Force to win the future fight. AFRL effectively synchronizes the Department of the Air Force (DAF) S&T enterprise and workforce to align towards the most consequential DAF priorities and accelerate the delivery of game-changing S&T. This program includes funding for the requisite DAF Science & Engineering (S&E) and mission enabling civilian workforce with the necessary technical competencies to develop, manage, and deliver science & technology capabilities. The use of program funds in this program element is in conjunction with the civilian pay expenses budgeted in the following program elements: 1206601SF, 0601102F, 0602020F, 0602102F, 0602202F, 0602203F, 0602204F, 0602298F, 0602336F, 0602605F, 0602788F, and 0603680F. In FY 2026, $49.406 million is budgeted in this program for 257 direct Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) civilians. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) utilizes 10 USC 4091, "Authorities for certain positions at science and technology reinvention laboratories” to manage the workforce strength, structure, positions, and compensation. This program element may include necessary expenses to support the operation and maintenance of facilities to manage, execute, and deliver science and technology capabilities. This program is in Budget Activity 2, Applied Research because this budget activity includes studies, investigations, and non-system specific technology efforts directed toward general military needs with a view toward developing and evaluating the feasibility and practicality of proposed solutions and determining their parameters.

Accomplishments & Planned Programs (7)