U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board

Memo from the SAB Chair

October 2016

Welcome to the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) public web site. 

The SAB is at the beginning of another highly active year, which will include major in-depth technical studies and technical reviews that have been tasked to the Board by the Secretary and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Through these taskings the SAB fulfills the mission stated in its charter from the Secretary of Defense, to provide the best independent external advice to USAF senior leadership and assist in maintaining the Air Force’s “vision into the future” of science and technology-enabled capabilities.

Planning and organizing are underway to execute three major studies that the Board was tasked to conduct this year: (1) Technology Viability to Support Penetrating Counterair Capability, (2), Adapting Air Force Test and Evaluation to Emerging System Needs, and (3) Nuclear Surety and Certification for Emerging Systems. These studies are formally scheduled to kick off in January 2017 and will be completed in June 2017. The resulting findings and recommendations will then be briefed to senior Air Force leadership in Headquarters Air Force, the Major Commands, and other relevant organizations beginning immediately thereafter. Final reports from these studies will be completed in August 2017, at which time they will enter security review prior to distribution.

Additionally, throughout this Fall the Board will conduct in-depth reviews of research strategy and progress in five of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) technical directorates, including (1) Aerospace Systems, (2) Sensors, (3) Directed Energy, (4) Space Vehicles, and (5) other research programs. The FY17 review process will conclude in April 2017, at which time the results will be presented to the senior leadership in the Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Materiel Command, and Headquarters Air Force.

As we do every year at our Fall Board meeting, the SAB welcomed new members to the Board, and thanked those members whose terms of service with the SAB have been completed. It is the deep technical expertise, experience, leadership and vision of its members – drawn from among the nation’s leading experts in science, technology, engineering, and technical program leadership across FFRDCs, national laboratories, industry and academia – that are essential for the Board’s continued ability to provide the in-depth independent technical advice that the Air Force relies on from the SAB.

I look forward to the SAB continuing to accomplish its mission of providing the best possible advice to the senior leadership of the Air Force and helping to maximize the value and benefit to the Air Force of its science and technology investments.

Dr. Werner J.A. Dahm