AFRL Technical Directorates

Mission: To assure the dominant advantage in air, space, and cyberspace by advancing human performance.

Vision: Experts in Airman performance and recognized Department of Defense leaders in human performance.

  • Bioeffects

  • Adaptive Warfighter Interfaces

  • Bioengineering

  • Training

  • Aerospace & Operational Medicine

The Directed Energy Directorate leads the discovery, development, and delivery of directed energy science and technology for National Security.

  • Directed Energy & Electro-Optics for Space Superiority

  • Weapons Modeling, Simulation & Analysis

  • High Power ElectroMagnetics

  • Lasers Systems

Mission: To explore, prototype, and demonstrate high-impact, game changing technologies that enable the Air Force and Nation to maintain its superior technical advantage.

Vision: To lead the Air Force and Nation in command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) and cyber science, technology, research and development.

  • Autonomy, Command and Control, and

Decision Support

  • Connectivity and Dissemination

  • Cyber Science and Technology

  • Processing and Exploitation


Our Vision is to be the world leader in innovating and developing aerospace systems.

  • Aerospace Vehicles

  • Control, Power, and Thermal Management

  • High Speed Systems

  • Rocket Propulsion

  • Turbine Engines

Mission: Lead the world-class technology development and integrated flight experimentation to ensure Space Superiority for the warfighter.

Vision: Be the best and team with the best; Be ahead and stay ahead in Space S&T.

  • Space Environment

  • Advanced Space Resilience Technologies

  • Space Communications and Navigation Technologies

  • Space Awareness and Command and Control (C2)


The Munitions Directorate is passionate about our mission to lead the discovery, development, integration, and transition of affordable weapons technology, enabling the warfighter to win in all domains. By focusing on science and technology, we deliver war-winning effects with hyper-precision and speed, against ground, sea or air targets in all weather conditions, day or night, and in permissive or contested environments. We are developing and transitioning innovative, game-changing and affordable solutions that will give our nation's Airmen the advantage today and in the future.

  • Munitions Airframe, Guidance, Navigation and Control

  • Modeling & Simulation Evaluation Science

  • Ordnance Sciences

  • Terminal Seeker Science

Mission: To develop, design, manufacture and sustain the materials and manufacturing technology programs necessary to meet the Air Force's affordability, sustainability, lethality and survivability needs.

Vision: To marshall, align, focus and lead the execution of materials and manufacturing S&T to meet current, emerging and future Air Force needs as well as enabling the advance of the nation's materials and manufacturing enterprise.

  • Functional Materials

  • Manufacturing Technology

  • Structural Materials

  • Support for Operations

Mission: Lead the discovery and Mission development of future capabilities providing integrated Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), combat identification, and spectrum warfare effects

Vision: Enable ubiquitous situation awareness and spectrum dominance for Global Vigilance, Reach, and Power

  • Enabling Sensor Devices & Components

  • Electro Optical (EO) Sensing

  • Multi Domain Sensing Autonomy

  • Spectrum Warfare

  • Trusted and Resilient Mission Systems

  • Radio Frequency (RF) Sensing

AFOSR continues to expand the horizon of scientific knowledge through its leadership and management of the Air Force's basic research program. As a vital component of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), AFOSR's mission is to support Air Force goals of control and maximum utilization of air, space, and cyberspace.

AFOSR accomplishes its mission by investing in basic research efforts for the Air Force in relevant scientific areas. Central to AFOSR's strategy is the transfer of the fruits of basic research to industry, the supplier of Air Force acquisitions; to the academic community which can lead the way to still more accomplishment; and to the other directorates of AFRL that carry the responsibility for applied and development research leading to acquisition.

  • Engineering & Information Sciences

  • Physical & Biological Sciences