Air Force lab aims for relevant research.

• Author: Farrell, Jr., Lawrence P.
• Position: PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE

THE AIR FORCE RECENTLY FLEW A B-52 bomber powered by an alternative fuel derived from natural gas.

This development highlights in many ways the challenges and achievements of the Air Force science and technology community. At a time when our military services are transforming into high-tech forces, scientists and engineers working at Air Force laboratories not only are pursuing the next big breakthroughs in technology, but they also are improving existing weapons--even old ones such as the B-52--to make them more relevant to the current battlefield.

As I have noted in the past two editions of "President's Perspective," the role of science and technology as key elements of national security cannot be overemphasized. In the August issue, I highlighted the importance of healthy funding for defense-wide science and technology; especially for basic research. Last month, I focused on the work of the Office of Naval Research.

In the Air Force, the bulk of these efforts occur within the Air Force Research Laboratory, which is headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, with laboratory sites located strategically around the United States.

The lab, with a $1.5 billion annual budget and a workforce of 9,500, oversees programs in a wide range of technical specialties--air vehicles, directed energy, human effectiveness, information, materials and manufacturing, munitions, propulsion, sensors and space vehicles.

AFRL's role in the alternative fuel project for the B-52 has put the lab in the spotlight, given the growing national attention to the problem of rising fuel costs and dependence on foreign oil.

In a test flight last month, the B-52 flew with two of its eight jet engines using a specially blended fuel made of conventional petroleum--based on JP-8 and a Fischer-Tropsch jet fuel produced from natural gas.

Another example of a research effort increasingly becoming more relevant to the fight against irregular enemies is the directed energy program.

A laser device developed by AFRL scientists at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., will be the first man-portable, non-lethal deterrent weapon intended to protect troops and control hostile crowds. The weapon employs a two-wavelength laser system. The laser light temporarily impairs aggressors by illuminating or "dazzling" individuals, removing their ability to see the laser source.

The lab's success stories are too numerous to recap in this column, but allow me to draw attention to a few:

* Wounded...