The U. S. Air force currently invests significantly in science and technology for directed-energy weapon (DEW) systems. Key elements of this investment include high-energy lasers and high-power microwaves. Other DEW research and development efforts include: optical beam control for high-energy lasers; vulnerability and lethality assessments; and advanced non-conventional and innovative weapons. Selected Directed Energy Research and Development for U.S. Air Force Aircraft Applications is the summary of three workshop sessions convened between February and April, 2013 by the Air Force Studies Board of the National Academies' National Research Council. Representatives from the Air Force science and technology community and DEW experts from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency presented and discussed threats that DEW capabilities might defend against and assessments of foreign progress in DEW. This report examines the current status of DEW capabilities both in the U.S. and abroad, and considers future applications of DEW systems.
The ability of the United States Air Force (USAF) to keep its aircraft operating at an acceptable operational tempo, in wartime and in peacetime, has been important to the Air Force since its inception. This is a much larger issue for the Air Force today, having effectively been at war for 20 years, with its aircraft becoming increasingly more expensive to operate and maintain and with military budgets certain to further decrease. The enormously complex Air Force weapon system sustainment enterprise is currently constrained on many sides by laws, policies, regulations and procedures, relationships, and organizational issues emanating from Congress, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Air Force itself. Against the back-drop of these stark realities, the Air Force requested the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies, under the auspices of the Air Force Studies Board to conduct and in-depth assessment of current and future Air Force weapon system sustainment initiatives and recommended future courses of action for consideration by the Air Force. Examination of the U.S. Air Force's Aircraft Sustainment Needs in the Future and Its Strategy to Meet Those Needs addresses the following topics: Assess current sustainment investments, infrastructure, and processes for adequacy in sustaining aging legacy systems and their support equipment. Determine if any modifications in policy are required and, if so, identify them and make recommendations for changes in Air Force regulations, policies, and strategies to accomplish the sustainment goals of the Air Force. Determine if any modifications in technology efforts are required and, if so, identify them and make recommendations regarding the technology efforts that should be pursued because they could make positive impacts on the sustainment of the current and future systems and equipment of the Air Force. Determine if the Air Logistics Centers have the necessary resources (funding, manpower, skill sets, and technologies) and are equipped and organized to sustain legacy systems and equipment and the Air Force of tomorrow. Identify and make recommendations regarding incorporating sustainability into future aircraft designs.
This Air Force publication presents technological developments that have produced new capabilities or opened new ways for achieving objectives. The Limitless Sky: Air Force Science and Technology Contributions to the Nation * 1. Precision Timing, Location, Navigation: GPS and the Precision Revolution * 2. Tightening the Circle: Scientific Research and the Evolution and Revolution of Precision Guided Munitions * 3. Enlisting the Spectrum for Air Force Advantage: Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) * 4. From the Air: Taking Radar to New Heights * 5. Pilots in Extreme Environments: Enforcing U.S. Foreign Policy from the Edge of Space * 6. Exploiting the High Ground: The U.S. Air Force and the Space Environment * 7. Space Flight: Long-Range Missiles, Rocket Planes, and Lifting Bodies * 8. Military Satellite Communications: From Concept to Reality * 9. Directed Energy: The Wave of the Future The old dream of mankind to fly and reach the sky-as exemplified by Daedalus and Icarus of ancient Greek lore-became a reality on December 17,1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and ushered in a period of unprecedented technological development. From Orville Wright's short flight a few feet off the ground, to the commercial airliners flying at 37,000feet, the limits of the sky have receded farther and farther away. In the second half of the twentieth century, powered flight extended to satellites orbiting the earth, to landings on the moon, and probes that explore our planetary system. The Hubble space telescope has been producing breathtaking pictures of distant galaxies not observable from terrestrial telescopes. The sky has become limitless. The Air Force, from its very beginnings as the Army Air Corps, has contributed significantly to all aspects of powered flight that have not only enhanced the defense capabilities of the United States, but also produced a broad spectrum of non-military applications that have improved the quality of life throughout the world. Consequently, to celebrate the centennial of flight, a one-day symposium was held on September 17, 2003, in which the stories of some of the contributions, and of the people who made them, were told. Each paper is the result of a collaborative effort of historians, who have placed the contribution in its historical perspective; technologists, who have described the essence of the scientific or technological contribution; and Air Force senior officers, who have shared their personal experiences on how that technological development affected operations or missions. The nine papers included in this volume were selected because of their diversity and because they illustrate clearly several key themes. First, it takes a long time from the onset of a new idea to the production of a useful product that enhances operations, something on the order of twenty years. One has to believe in the idea and stay the course, in the face of adversity, to obtain results. Consistent, steady funding is a must. Second, research results rarely lead to what was envisioned in the beginning as a relevant application. Indeed, research in atomic clocks enabled the Global Positioning System (GPS), but that was not the motivation for the research. Similarly, early research on lasers hardly anticipated the proliferation of commercial products or at-home entertainment via DVDs. Third, it usually takes a confluence of several disparate developments to produce a new capability. A vibrant, interacting scientific and engineering community is essential to achieve the breakthroughs that will continue to provide the nation with air supremacy.
Highlights the human components of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, their interactions with the technology and each other, and the implications of human capabilities and limitations for the larger system Considers human factors issues associated with RPAS, but within the context of a very large system of people, other vehicles, policy, safety concerns, and varying applications Chapters have been contributed by world class experts in HSI and those with operational RPAS experience Considers unintended consequences associated with taking a more myopic view of this system Examines implications for practice, policy, and research Considers both civil and military aspects of RPAS
