Research Centers

Applied Research Center for Hypersonics

The Applied Research Center for Hypersonics (ARCH) delivers cutting edge inter-disciplinary solutions to defense-related challenges in hypersonics through applied research, workforce development, and education. 

Autonomy and Navigation Technology Center

The Autonomy and Navigation Technology (ANT) Center is a forward-looking navigation research center seeking to identify and solve tomorrow's most challenging navigation problems. The ANT Center's goal is to develop navigation technology that ensures we can navigate anywhere at any time. Under Air Force Research Laboratory sponsorship, the ANT Center designed and built a GPS-based relative navigation system that determines cm-level relative positions between two flying aircraft. The Center also developed autonomous formation flight control algorithms and successfully flew the entire system at the USAF Test Pilot School, accomplishing the first fully autonomous precision formation flight appropriate for aerial refueling.

Center for Cyberspace Research

The Center for Cyberspace Research (CCR), established in March 2002, conducts defense-focused cybersecurity research at the Master's and PhD levels. The CCR is a national Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research, as designated by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency. AFIT is also an NSA-designated Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations and a National Science Foundation CyberCorp institution. On June 19, 2008, the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force designated AFIT as the Air Force Cyberspace Technical Center of Excellence (CyTCoE). Under the AF CyTCoE charter, the Center works with the Air Force leadership to develop and maintain the cyberspace workforce via cutting-edge graduate and continuing education. The CCR is forward-looking and responsive to the changing educational and research needs of the Air Force, Department of Defense, and the federal government. Affiliated faculty teach and direct graduate research focusing on understanding and developing advanced cybersecurity-related theories and technologies. These theory and technology advancements have included efforts in critical infrastructure protection, network intrusion detection and avoidance, insider threat mitigation, cyberspace situational awareness, malicious software detection and analysis, software protection, and anti-tamper technologies. 

Center for Directed Energy

The Center for Directed Energy (CDE) supports Air Force and DOD agencies in transitioning Directed Energy weapons, such as high energy lasers (HELs), to the battlefield through vigorous scientific experiments, engineering research and diverse consulting activities, in conjunction with educational programs offered through the Department of Engineering Physics.  The CDE conducts both field and laboratory experiments that have allowed it to develop and maintain the world's most comprehensive simulation packages for atmospheric effects (LEEDR - Laser Environmental Effects Definition and Reference) and the effects of the environment on the propagation of HELs (HELEEOS - High Energy Laser End-to-End Operational Simulation).  These models each have over 200 DOD and industry users, and the CDE is actively using experimental measurements it and other groups have collected for verification and validation of its models.  The CDE's primary sponsors include the High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office, the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy and Sensors Directorates and Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and agencies within the intelligence community. 

Homeland Security Community of Best Practices

The Homeland Security Community of Best Practices (HS CoBP) is the strategic arm and tactical day-to-day team of experts at the Air Force Institute of Technology to support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in test and evaluation (T&E). The HS CoBP officially began 1 October 2020, with the mission to conduct roundtable events to foster innovative, quality, and agile activities to build an authoritative community of strategic professionals from government, industry, and academia to author critical area T&E best practice guidebooks to ultimately assess and assist acquisition programs.

Center for Space Research and Assurance

The Center for Space Research and Assurance (CSRA) develops the technical space cadre through world-class research and immersive hands-on graduate education. It performs research into novel highly-valued resilient, responsive and reliable space capabilities for the DoD and Intelligence Community. The CSRA executes leading-edge space technology development, science, and space experiments in collaboration with government organizations to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

Center for Technical Intelligence Studies and Research
The Center for Technical Intelligence Studies and Research (CTISR) is focused on Air Force, Space Force, DOD and Intelligence Community’s scientific, technical and operational activities through graduate research programs. CTISR brings together cleared faculty across academic departments to solve difficult, multi-disciplinary technical intelligence problems. Several current research projects include: signature measurement; phenomenological understanding; algorithm development for target detection and tracking; battle space combustion characterization; event classification; material identification; dim target detection and tracking; sensor data fusion for TI enhancement; and understanding target signature phenomenology and remote sensing platforms for enhanced exploitation of intelligence data. CTISR is also spearheading a business model which will enable defense contractors and government civilians to cost-effectively educate the next-generation scientific and technical intelligence workforce. 

Nuclear Expertise for Advancing Technologies