The Air Force Research Laboratory has announced an organizational restructuring aimed at aligning its research enterprise with mission priorities and accelerating the delivery of advanced military systems.
AFRL said Friday that the redesign integrates research and development efforts across key domains to improve collaboration, reduce redundancies and streamline processes.
Explore how the AFRL’s new organizational structure and other changes across the Air Force will impact the service’s partnership with industry at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Air and Space Summit on July 30. The event will feature top Air Force leaders, including the service’s vice chief of staff, Gen. John Lamontagne. Sign up today to secure your seat.
Table of Contents
What Are AFRL’s New Directorates?
The new framework organizes AFRL into seven major entities, including five new mission-focused directorates.
The new Foundational Technology Directorate will oversee basic research that enables the lab to develop new capabilities. Meanwhile, three additional new directorates — Air Warfare, Space Warfare, and Information and Spectrum Warfare — will focus on maturing technologies and reducing risk across their respective domains.
The Technology Transition Office, AFRL’s system integrator, will connect the laboratory with mission partners, industry and the acquisition community to accelerate the delivery of capabilities. It will also integrate efforts from AFWERX, SpaceWERX and other partnership and engagement functions to streamline the transition pipeline.
How Will the Restructuring Impact the Systems Technology Office and 711th Human Performance Wing?
The Systems Technology Office will continue its existing mission, advancing technology development and delivery across the enterprise.
The 711th Human Performance Wing will also maintain its current structure, focusing on human performance initiatives to support warfighter readiness.
Brig. Gen. Jason Bartolomei, commander of AFRL, said the redesign aligns scientists and engineers more closely with operational challenges.
“By building a more integrated enterprise, we are creating clear pathways to accelerate innovation and ensure our ideas become capabilities,” he stated. “We are not just creating technology; we are delivering technological systems to provide an advantage for the fight.”
Broader Air Force Reforms
AFRL’s restructuring aligns with broader organizational changes across the Air Force to accelerate the delivery of advanced capabilities to warfighters. In January, the service redesignated the Defense Acquisition System as the Warfighting Acquisition System.
The Air Force also shifted from program executive officers to portfolio acquisition executives, who are responsible for managing integrated mission portfolios, including aircraft, weapons, and command and control systems. The new structure is intended to streamline decision-making and tie accountability more closely to operational outcomes.
Related Articles
The Defense Innovation Unit has appointed Steve Butow as senior adviser to DIU Director and 2026 Wash100 Award winner Owen West. DIU said in a LinkedIn post Friday that Butow will also serve as a member of its executive committee. In his new roles, Butow will align the unit’s strategic direction with the joint force’s operational priorities. “Extremely honored to advise and assist Owen West and the rest of our DIU team with rapidly fielding commercially-derived technologies that create and sustain asymmetric advantage for the joint warfighter,” he commented on LinkedIn. Defense leaders, including the Air Force’s Gen. John Lamontagne,
Hung Cao, a 2026 Wash100 Award winner, identified his immediate priorities as the new acting secretary of the Navy in a video address to the force posted on the social media site X on Friday. Navy leaders will discuss shipbuilding, sailor readiness and other priorities at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Navy Summit on Aug. 27. The event will have keynote speeches from top decision-makers at the Navy, panel discussions featuring defense officials and industry executives, and networking opportunities. Tickets are available here. What Are Hung Cao’s Three Priorities for the Navy? Cao, a retired U.S. Navy captain, said his first
The U.S. Army has issued a call for solutions under its Rapid Electromagnetic Warfare and Signals Intelligence, or REWSI, initiative, seeking commercial technologies to support electromagnetic spectrum operations. The effort, released through the Army’s open solicitation commercial solutions opening via the VULCAN portal, is designed to streamline how the service identifies and acquires emerging capabilities for operational use, the service branch said Friday. Submissions will be accepted until April 22, 2027. The 2026 Army Summit, hosted by the Potomac Officers Club on June 18, will bring together Army leaders and industry stakeholders to examine how the service is adapting its