Conventional Weapons Technology

The Conventional Weapons Technology program is a key Air Force research and development initiative focused on advancing ordnance and guidance technologies for conventional weapons. Managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the program aims to develop, integrate, and demonstrate new capabilities in warheads, fuzes, explosives, navigation, control systems, and seekers. The objective is to provide the Department of the Air Force (DAF) with innovative, multi-domain science and technology (S&T) solutions that address current and future operational needs, while ensuring alignment with broader Department of Defense (DoD) priorities and eliminating duplication across agencies.

Within this program, the Weapon Technology Development line is dedicated to maturing and demonstrating advanced ordnance and guidance component technologies. The goals include the development of energetic materials, advanced fuze technologies, warhead sciences, and modeling and simulation tools. The project emphasizes tailored lethality, improved fragmentation control, and enhanced survivability and safety through distributed, embedded fuzing concepts. Additional objectives involve advancing high-speed impact technologies, functional defeat methodologies, and developing high-fidelity test and analysis tools to support rapid transition of these technologies into operational weapon systems.

A significant portion of the Weapon Technology Development effort is devoted to guidance technologies that improve the precision, controlled lethality, and flexibility of munitions. This includes work on precision navigation in GPS-denied environments, high-resolution infrared scene projectors, software-defined radio frequency test chambers, and the integration of hardware-in-the-loop and software-in-the-loop modeling for open architecture and networked munition concepts. The project also seeks to enhance digital engineering capabilities, including the development of a weapons digital ecosystem and advanced simulation tools to support the entire weapons lifecycle.

The Weapon Concept Development line focuses on reducing risk for future conventional weapons acquisitions by maturing, integrating, and demonstrating ordnance and guidance technologies in both air-to-air and air-to-ground domains. The air-to-air concept development effort targets the creation of next-generation missile components with improved propulsion, lethality, agility, and miniaturization, as well as cost and risk reduction. This includes developing and testing propulsion systems, conducting lethality analyses for small form factor warheads, and supporting the design and validation of advanced airframes for sixth-generation platforms.

In the air-to-ground domain, Weapon Concept Development aims to mature and demonstrate weapon components responsive to future threat environments, with a particular emphasis on hypersonic and high-speed concepts. The objectives include risk reduction through demonstration and flight testing, development of kinetic payloads, seekers, and fuze technologies for hypersonic applications, and the use of scalable, cloud-enabled modeling and simulation ecosystems. The project also supports the integration of digital engineering and advanced analysis tools to ensure the effectiveness of these technologies across a diverse set of targets.

Both major project lines within the Conventional Weapons Technology program are closely coordinated with other DoD S&T efforts through the Science and Technology Executive Committee process, ensuring harmonization and efficient use of resources. The program also supports the DAF civilian workforce with the technical competencies required to deliver these advanced capabilities, and may include operational and maintenance expenses for supporting facilities. Strategic realignments and adjustments in funding reflect ongoing efforts to optimize research focus areas and improve resource efficiency in accordance with DoD and Administration policies.

The Conventional Weapons Technology program is structured under Advanced Technology Development (Budget Activity 3), focusing on the development and integration of subsystems and components into prototypes for field experiments and simulated testing. Its goals and objectives are to provide the Air Force with adaptable and precise conventional weapons technologies that can address evolving threats and operational requirements in both current and future conflict scenarios.