Future AF Integrated Technology Demos

The Department of the Air Force needs to provide game-changing leap-ahead capabilities to meet future force TECHnologist (WARTECH) process. The WARTECH process enables the DAF enterprise to collaboratively translate future force design priorities and requirements into targeted multi-disciplinary science and technology investments. WARTECH accelerates capability development and responds to emerging technology opportunities by supporting integrated concept exploration. These investments support activities such as mission thread analyses to demonstrate military utility and software and hardware feasibility assessments. Select efforts will evolve into either a Vanguard Pathfinder to allow for further assessment and maturation or be designated a Vanguard Prospect or Vanguard indicating enterprise-level priority.

The Vanguard, Navigation Technology Satellite 3, develops and demonstrates advanced space-based navigation system technologies to provide resilient navigation support in contested environments. The demonstration includes a space-based test vehicle, ground-based enterprise command and control, and agile software defined receivers for the user. This thrust was realigned under US Space Force Account 3620, Program 1206616SF Advanced Technology Development (ATD), Project 630321 Space Warfighter Technologist Capabilities: 1. In FY 2024, FY 2024 money was transferred to the Space Force. At the time, FY 2025 funding was not transferred because the FY 2025 PB occurred prior to the FY 2024 Appropriations. 2. The Congressional Intent table (Project Level Adjustment Tables to Accompany Division A, Title IV, Department of Defense, Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025), transferred FY 2025 scope.

The Vanguard Prospect, APEX GEAR, develops and demonstrates human-in-the-loop automated planning software for accelerated resource allocation and exploration of plans modification opportunities optimized for outcomes diversified by potential adversary responses that are informed by near real time enemy order of battle at the scale of great power competition against a peer adversary. On completion, the software will begin transition to the Air Operations Center weapons system program of record.

The Vanguard Prospect, Scabbard Rage, identifies, assesses, integrates, and demonstrates material and non- material solutions to support EMS protection and survivability of air and space platforms, personnel, systems, systems of systems (SoS), and equipment. The Department of the Air Force has a need to protect personnel, facilities, and equipment from the effects of friendly, neutral, or enemy use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) as well as naturally occurring phenomena that degrade, neutralize, or destroy combat capability. Note: Scabbard Rage matured out of the Integrated Combat Effects (ICE) and Integrated Electronic Warfare (IEW) Vanguard Pathfinders into its own Vanguard Prospect thrust. The scope related to Scabbard Rage was moved from the ICE & IEW Pathfinders into this thrust, specifically the 'Continued' scope in FY 2025 originally fell under ICE or IEW.

The Vanguard Prospect Payload Delivery System is a Spacedrop Demonstration which expands upon the Rocket Cargo Vanguard, which leveraged the multi-billion-dollar commercial investments in large reusable launch vehicles to extend the commercial rocket capabilities and create a novel DOD solution for global reach. While Rocket Cargo S&T explored downmass and cargo delivery via rocket re-entry, this effort will investigate cargo downmass and delivery via capsule spacedrop and re-entry. The re-entry capsule approach has potential for increased cargo mass per launch and a broad diversity of launch solutions from medium-lift to super-heavy lift launch vehicles. The capsule S&T is inherently multi-disciplinary and multi-domain across air and space. Note: This in an ongoing effort that is dual funded by the USSF and USAF with the Air portion beginning in FY 2026. The scope shown here includes all the scope (both USAF and USSF) as both funding lines contribute to that scope. The funding shown here is only the USAF funding. The USSF funding can be found in USSF PE 1206616SF.

This program focuses on developing and integrating advanced sensor technologies, algorithms, and autonomous systems to address detection and tracking challenges in a contested environment. It encompasses both algorithm development and hardware implementation for Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) payload systems, leveraging advancements in regional situational awareness products and prioritizing Concept of Operations (CONOPS) that enhance mission effectiveness. This program leverages state of the art technology to advance the Technology Readiness Levels of components and systems providing a transitionable solution to meet the requirements of the Department Air Force (DAF).

Conduct operational analysis and mission thread engineering activities assessing military utility and cost-effective implementations of emerging technology opportunities under consideration in the WARTECH process. Due to Science and Technology portfolio reprioritization, this effort has been integrated into the WARTECH effort in this program. Funding moved to WARTECH in FY 2024 and FY 2025, as well as to the Vanguard Prospects within this Program Element.

The Department of the Air Force has a need to identify and counter any use of electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) effects as well as naturally occurring phenomena that degrade, neutralize, or destroy friendly combat capability. This effort will characterize, simulate, and assess techniques to counter signals of interest through the full data processing chain of priority threat systems. Additionally, methods for distributed collection, electromagnetic emission, and battle management of distributed EW platforms will be developed. This effort includes algorithm and tool development with modeling, simulation, and analysis and hardware-in-the loop testing. Note: Scabbard Rage graduated from the Integrated Combat Effects (ICE) and Integrated Electronic Warfare (IEW) Vanguard Pathfinders into its own Vanguard Prospect thrust. The scope related to Scabbard Rage was moved from the ICE & IEW Pathfinders into its own thrust, these changes are reflected in FY 2025 & FY 2026 plans.

The Department of the Air Force has a need to communicate with Joint and Coalition partners and to provide battle management during complex military operations. This effort identifies and assesses accessible, resilient, and secure bidirectional information exchange technology solutions, components, and sub-systems, to enable seamless movement of data to the right place at the right time informing effective decision making on military relevant timescales. Efforts support the integration of applications and algorithms into flexible hardware and software architectures to achieve movement of appropriate data across multiple security levels, and modeling and simulation to assess information exchanges for large-scale all-domain warfighter operations.

The Department of Air Force has a need to prepare our forces for joint military operations through simulation of major conflicts and training activities. This effort integrates, assesses, and demonstrates mature science and technology solutions supporting test and training in the synthetic environment to enable future force operations. Note: The funding for this thrust was reprioritized to support the overall program. No work was performed in this thrust for FY 2024 and FY 2025.

The Department of the Air Force has a need to pursue leap ahead technologies to enable offensive and defensive warfighting combat effects. Investments should develop, assess and demonstrate standoff capabilities with increased responsiveness and affordability to jointly deter or blunt peer-adversary offensive operations. Note: A portion of Integrated Combat Effects (ICE) moved into the Vanguard Prospect Scabbard Rage. Scabbard Rage graduated from the Integrated Combat Effects (ICE) and Integrated Electronic Warfare (IEW) Vanguard Pathfinders into its own Vanguard Prospect thrust. The scope related to Scabbard Rage was moved from the ICE & IEW Pathfinders into its own thrust, these changes are reflected in FY 2025 & FY 2026 plans. In FY 2025, funding and effort moved to Scabbard Rage and EO/IR Sensor Demonstration. Additionally, future work planned for FY 2026 moved into the recently approved (June 25) Vanguard Prospect EO/IR Sensing Demonstration.

The Vanguard, Rocket Cargo, is an S&T effort to leverage the multi-billion dollars of commercial investments in large reusable launch vehicles to extend the commercial rocket capabilities and create a novel DOD solution for global reach. DAF S&T efforts and resources are focused on the specific areas that are unique to military transport applications. The S&T objective is to determine the viability, performance, military utility, and business case of the commercial rocket capability. Potential investigation activities will include detailed mission and cost analyses, investigation of the harsh rocket plume interactions with landing surfaces, evaluation of rocket landing capabilities at austere sites, and human factors at landing sites. Investments will also determine the ability to airdrop cargo after reentry, will assess in-flight communications to the rocket, will test cargo environments and novel cargo "loadmaster” designs for rapid load/unload, and will evaluate rocket detectability and vulnerability. This thrust was realigned under US Space Force Account 3620, Program 1206616SF Advanced Technology Development (ATD), Project 630321 Space Warfighter Technologist Capabilities: 1. In FY 2024, FY 2024 money was transferred to the Space Force. At the time, FY 2025 funding was not transferred because the FY 2025 PB occurred prior to the FY 2024 Appropriations. 2. The Congressional Intent table (Project Level Adjustment Tables to Accompany Division A, Title IV, Department of Defense, Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025), transferred FY 2025 scope.

The Vanguard Prospect, Resolute Sentry, provides real-time multi-domain battlespace awareness in highly contested environments. Develops and demonstrates an autonomy foundation which integrates software and hardware capabilities to enable cross-domain, cross-platform Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) via autonomous platforms at the tactical edge in communications degraded and denied environments. Resolute Sentry fuses information from multiple off-board sources with on-board and networked sensors to provide higher fidelity information to the joint force as part of the Sensing Grid feed to the Joint All Domain Command and Control capability. Resolute Sentry leverages Open Mission Systems and Sensor Open Systems Architectures to maximize platform compatibility.

The Vanguard Prospect, Long Range Kill Chain is prototyping and testing advanced techniques that utilize data sources from all domains to form and maintain the best possible targeting information against challenging adversary threats. This effort matures key special communications techniques and hardware required to utilize the assembled targeting information in tactically relevant timelines. The hardware and techniques matured under this effort will be inserted into the end-to-end Hawkeye kill chain. - Effort completed in FY 2024: Completed demonstration of over-the-air performance of special communications techniques with a specific radio intended for use in selected tactical platforms, including assessment against known and anticipated adversary threats.

The Vanguard Prospect, Area Effects Demo, advances the development of high-speed area effects concepts through a series of focused ground and flight test campaigns. Full program demonstration and collected data will enable advanced modeling and simulation (MS&A) tool development within relevant, actual, and approximate flight conditions. Program deliverables will improve understanding of hypersonic phenomena as well as provide risk reduction for future high-speed vehicle concepts and hypersonic multi-mission platforms.

The Vanguard Prospect, Fight Tonight, develops and demonstrates a transformational gaming engine and artificial intelligence based military planning capability enabling the Department of the Air Force to develop, assess, and continuously adapt the employment of combat power at the pace and scale needed for peer conflict, achieving decision advantage across highly dynamic and contested environments.

The objective of the Combat Refueling & Operations Networked Universal System (CRONUS) program is a technology insertion into current and future manned and unmanned aerial refueling systems. CRONUS is an operational concept which enables "fueling the fight” - delivering fuel to airborne assets where and when needed to support the joint force to include contested areas. To project combat power, an airborne platform, whether it be a counter-air, strike, or Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), must be able to operate within contested or highly contested operational environments. The CRONUS concept includes real-time dynamic Air Refueling Battle Management (ARBM) and Automated Air-to-Air Refueling (A3R). The CRONUS ARBM effort will provide automation to the tracking and scheduling of aerial refueling within contested areas, while the A3R effort will focus on automating the mechanical aspects of the aerial refueling process to include automated refueling and receiving equipment.

The Vanguard Prospect, E-Gon, is a comprehensive electromagnetic warfare (EW) solution being developed via open standards, utilizing adaptive/cognitive methodologies to meet the requirements of a complex and congested electromagnetic operating environment, specifically to address unknown and/or complex emitters. Rapid development, assessment, and integration of new techniques is needed to operate in an evolving electromagnetic spectrum environment which requires the ability to sense the electromagnetic spectrum and make decisions and/or recommendations based on an understanding of that environment.

The Vanguard Prospect, Swift Hammer, is an S&T effort focused on the development and demonstration of key technologies for long-range, high-speed weapons. The program includes the development of propulsion subsystems and the integration of these subsystems for high-speed weapon airframes. The program will also investigate integrated design and manufacturing processes that reduce the production costs and can dramatically increase the production rates of long-range, high- speed weapons. Integral to these activities is high-fidelity modeling and simulation and model-based systems engineering to ensure the technology products developed transition smoothly to future high-speed weapon systems. Note: Early concept scoping was accomplished for this effort under the WARTECH thrust. Continued concept scoping was planned to be accomplished in FY 2025 under the Integrated Combat Effects (ICE) Vanguard Pathfinder captured in the FY 2025 PB. This effort matured sufficiently in FY 2024 to graduate into its own thrust, labeled Swift Hammer. The scope related to Swift Hammer was moved from the ICE Pathfinder into the Swift Hammer Vanguard Prospect.