We talk a lot about all the zoom and go boom hardware around here, but we don’t spend a lot of time talking about the stuff used to make it.
That changes today.
Yesterday, AV (the artist formerly known as AeroVironment) announced that it has been awarded a ceramics advanced materials and processes (CAMP) contract by AFRL to “advance next-generation ceramic and ceramic matrix composite materials (CMCs) for extreme aerospace and defense applications.”
Over the course of 39 months, AV’s team will work with AFRL at Wright-Patterson and use 3D printing and additive manufacturing to spin out “lightweight, thermally resilient structures,” including vehicles, engines, rocket propulsion systems, and transparent armor, per the company.
“Through the CAMP program, we’re not just developing better ceramics—we’re creating the materials foundation for the future of flight and space operations,” AV Vice President of Defense and Interagency Service John Hogan said in a statement.
Tip of the iceberg: Now, you might think of AV as a drone company, but they actually do a whole lot more than that.
- Initially, they were known for their drones—the Switchblade 600 loitering munition being the most famous among them. Other drones include the Puma (larger tactical drone), the P550 (larger tactical drone), and the Mayhem 10 (launched effects).
- After acquiring BlueHalo for a cool $4.1B last year, they brought on a whole boatload of new capabilities, including directed energy (remember LOCUST?), cUAS tracking and takedown, EW (including RF sensing and electronic attack), and space-based systems (space-domain awareness and laser comms among them). Good deal, really.
Material girl: As part of that BlueHalo acquisition, AV also acquired UES—a quiet subsegment of the company that had quietly been working on tricky scientific research and technology solutions within the company since they were themselves acquired by BlueHalo in 2024.
- The UES scientific research part of the business is what this new AFRL contract is for.
- UES has long supported AFRL in the development of advanced materials, including advanced metallic alloys, composite materials, high-temperature structures, and, yes, ceramic materials.
- Recently, the business has moved into biotechnology and biomaterials. Earlier this year, they were awarded a $75M AFRL task order for advanced polymers and responsive materials, including biomimetic designs and biologically inspired materials.
- UES also operates the Air Force’s Laser Hardened Materials Evaluation Laboratory (LHMEL) near Wright-Patterson. Convenient, that.
- The company—founded in 1973—has won hundreds of federal contracts worth well over a billion dollars. Last year, for example, the company won a set of contracts worth $747M with the Air Force for electromagnetic spectrum research.
Basically, UES has long served as an external arm of AFRL (and by extension, the Air Force) for materials (and other advanced) research. This new contract is another instance of that.
- The goal here is to develop ceramic materials and structures that can withstand super-hot conditions. Like, hypersonic hot.
- Ceramic materials are super lightweight—like, a fraction of the weight of steel—while being super heat resistant. That makes them ideal for everything from satellite propulsion to helicopter armor and advanced sensors, per the company. Basically, anywhere you need durability and heat resistance, these kinds of materials can help.
- The AV-AFRL work under the contract will include “precursor synthesis and processing, novel fabrication and design methods, microstructural characterization, and advanced modeling to better predict performance and durability.”
- They’ll also print structures themselves—turbine engines, nozzle extensions, and the like.
“By advancing the next generation of high-temperature materials and manufacturing processes, we will deliver capabilities that enhance mission readiness, extend operational endurance, and strengthen the technological superiority of our Air and Space Forces,” AV Senior Vice President of Cyber and Mission Solutions Johnathan Jones said in a statement.