Manufacturing Technology Program

The Manufacturing Technology Program is managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and is designed to advance high-impact, multi-domain science and technology solutions that support the Department of the Air Force's (DAF) strategic priorities. The program's overarching goal is to develop and improve manufacturing technologies and processes that reduce transition risk, lower costs, enhance component and system quality, and increase readiness and mission availability.

By focusing on the industrial base, the program seeks to ensure that manufacturing capabilities are responsive to warfighter needs and can support both current and future Air and Space Force operations.

The Affordable Mission Availability line item aims to develop and transition pervasive manufacturing technologies that enable affordable sustainment and increased mission availability for DAF components and systems. Objectives include advancing specialized manufacturing technologies such as additive manufacturing, robotics, and automation to support legacy aircraft systems. Additional efforts focus on developing modular battery manufacturing and turbine engine repair processes, reducing maintenance downtime, and improving manufacturing methods for hypersonic platforms, high-temperature sensors, and windows. The program also addresses manufacturing processes for command and control communication technologies and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems.

The Advanced Manufacturing Technologies line item is dedicated to developing and transitioning affordable advanced manufacturing processes for both fielded and future weapon systems. Key objectives include enabling automation, robotics, mixed reality, and digital transformations to reduce acquisition, maintenance, and repair costs. The program supports the integration of digital engineering concepts into manufacturing, the development of blockchain-enabled supply chain management tools, and the qualification of additively manufactured aerospace components to address issues with diminishing manufacturing sources and enable new part geometries for improved performance. Efforts also include developing rapid digital models for depot repair automation and completing technologies for factory-of-the-future initiatives.

The Manufacturing for the Future Force line item focuses on developing manufacturing technologies that support advanced solutions for future force requirements across multiple domains. Objectives include the development of low-cost and attritable systems, thermal protection materials for high-temperature applications, and manufacturing processes for quantum sensing substrates. The program also seeks to rapidly onboard non-aerospace industries into DAF supply chains to expand surge capacity during wartime, leveraging digital models and qualification toolsets to integrate civilian industry into defense aerospace production.

In addition to core program activities, the Manufacturing Technology Program includes numerous Congressionally directed increases targeting specific technology areas. These include metal additive manufacturing, beryllium manufacturing, thermoplastic flight control components, rare gas cryogenic distillation, vertical integration of the scramjet supply chain, gallium oxide for high-power electronics, aerospace film technology, operationalizing additive manufacturing for sustainment, agile additive manufacturing for hypersonic systems, and virtual/augmented/mixed reality readiness. Each congressional add is designed to address targeted gaps in the industrial base or to accelerate the development and transition of critical manufacturing technologies for defense applications.

Additional congressional adds for FY 2025 include classified additive manufacturing, F-35 agnostic battery development, large-format metal additive manufacturing for hypersonics, rapidly additively manufactured skins for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, affordable manufacturing of carbon nanotube data cables, AFSC depot maintenance data science, classified agile aircraft manufacturing, high-temperature composite material manufacturing, and manufacturability of attritable small unmanned aerial systems. These efforts reflect congressional priorities to strengthen advanced manufacturing capabilities and address specific needs within the Air Force's modernization and sustainment portfolio.

The Manufacturing Technology Program is structured to synchronize efforts across the DAF science and technology enterprise, promote industrial partnerships, and enable targeted investments that reduce risk in the supply chain for both existing and new warfighter systems. The program also supports the requisite civilian workforce needed to develop, manage, and deliver these science and technology capabilities, with funds allocated for civilian pay and facility operations. The program aims to transform the defense manufacturing landscape, ensuring the Air Force maintains a reliable, affordable, and technologically advanced industrial base.