Air Force Vanguards
Abstract
This Program develops and delivers transformational operational capabilities through advanced technology solutions that focus on five strategic capabilities: Global Persistent Awareness; Resilient Information Sharing; Rapid, Effective Decision-Making; Complexity, Unpredictability, and Mass; and Speed and Reach of Disruption and Lethality. Focused Advanced Technology Research efforts may also be referred to as Vanguards or Future Transformational Capabilities. Vanguard programs will advance and accelerate emerging weapon systems and warfighting concepts in the Air Force Science and Technology (S&T) portfolio, while demonstrating the viability of leap-ahead capabilities. High risk by design, their goal answers specific questions and informs future decisions by including the direction of future acquisition programs and identifying gaps where more research is still needed. These programs are Air Force priority initiatives with enterprise commitment that incorporate multidisciplinary solutions for delivering transformational capabilities through the Air Force Capability Development Council (CDC), co-chaired by the Under Secretary of the Air Force and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, owns the annual Vanguard approval process. The Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability (AFWIC), chartered to develop the Air Force future force design, leads activities that identify and recommend Vanguard candidates that could provide transformational capability. The first three Air Force Vanguard programs are Golden Horde, Navigation Technology Satellite 3 (NTS-3), and Skyborg. Golden Horde will demonstrate collaborative autonomous networked weapons that share data, interact and execute coordinated actions, and work together to defeat targets. NTS-3 will experiment on key aspects for new GPS receivers that incorporate multiple signals and readily adapt to warfighter needs. The first iteration of Skyborg will integrate artificial intelligence into autonomous unmanned air vehicles to enable future manned-unmanned teaming. In the FY 2021, the Air Force is consolidating its existing thirteen Advanced Technology Development (ATD), Research Development Test and Evaluation (RDT&E), Budget Activity 03 (BA 03) PEs into five new capability focused RDT&E BA 03 PEs to better align with the Air Force Science and Technology (S&T) Strategy signed by the Secretary of the Air Force in April 2019. This consolidation will improve and accelerate delivery of integrated transformational, multidisciplinary, collaborative technology solutions necessary to enable new Air Force warfighting capabilities that support of the National Defense Strategy. This new structure will provide the Air Force and Congress with a clearer understanding and increased transparency of integrated technology solutions and demonstrations key to enabling the Air Force future force design. In FY 2021, the Air Force created PE 0603032F, Future AF Integrated Technology Demos, Project 630320, Air Force Vanguards, to consolidate Vanguard and Future Transformational Capabilities efforts and funding in order to better align with the Air Force S&T Strategy, April 2019, and execute transformational Advanced Technology Development. This PE creation and realignment of funding from existing Air Force RDT&E Advanced Technology Development PEs is an administrative realignment and not a new start. These efforts and activities continued to be managed by the Air Force Technology Executive Officer (TEO), dual-hatted as the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Commander, and executed across the various AFRL Technology Directorate locations. This PE may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver science & technology capabilities. The use of program funds in this PE would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in PEs 0601102F, 0602102F, 0602201F, 0602202F, 0602203F, 0602204F, 0602602F, 0602605F, 0602788F, 1206601SF, and 0602298F. This program is in Budget Activity 3, Advanced Technology Development because this budget activity includes development of subsystems and components and efforts to integrate subsystems and components into system prototypes for field experiments and/or tests in a simulated environment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Project
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2021
- Source ID
- 630320_0603032F_3_3600_PB_2021
Related Documents
- Root: Future AF Integrated Technology Demos
- Child Accomplishment: Future Transformational Capabilities
- Child Accomplishment: Navigation Technology Satellite 3 (NTS-3)
- Child Accomplishment: Skyborg
- Child Accomplishment: Golden Horde