NASA, AFWERX Agree to Enhance Advanced Air Mobility R&D

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s AFWERX directorate and NASA have expanded an ongoing partnership to develop advanced air mobility technology.

AFWERX invests in small businesses developing capabilities potentially useful to the Air Force.

NASA began collaborating with the directorate in 2020 to access electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and other resources.

AFWERX Prime officials toured four NASA research centers in 2023 as part of an agreement between Parimal Kopardekar, NASA Aeronautics Research Institution director, and Darshan Divakaran, AFWERX airspace innovation and prime partnerships lead. The visits saw discussions on the commercial viability of AAM and how interagency collaboration could work to minimize duplicate efforts.

Kopardekar said the visits allowed his organization to learn AFWERX’s near-term priorities. Meanwhile, Divakaran underlined that combining the directorate’s operational capability with NASA’s research strength could signal the United States’ objective of scaling AAM, AFRL said Friday.

NASA is also working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop AAM capabilities. The two organizations have teamed up with Sikorsky to create automation software for passenger and cargo helicopter flights.