The Department of the Air Force (DAF) is facing a significant energy challenge. The future aerospace missions envisioned by the DAF require far greater energy storage capabilities than current batteries can provide. There’s a critical need for higher power bursts, advanced high-energy weapons, lighter alternatives for unmanned systems, and simply a longer operational lifespan.
Current Technology’s Limitations: A Barrier to Innovation
Existing commercial batteries, optimized for everyday use, cannot withstand the extreme environmental conditions of Air Force operations — intense heat, cold, powerful mechanical shocks, or extreme vibrations. Furthermore, they „suffer from self-discharge, leading to a short storage shelf life that makes them unreliable for long-term materiel storage,” and introduce „unknown safety risks” in unique operating environments. These shortcomings represent „key limitations for Air Force applications,” where military systems often demand exquisite performance.
A Call for Innovation: Expert Board Gathers Industry and Academia
Aware of these obstacles, the DAF, encompassing both the Air Force and Space Force, is actively seeking breakthroughs in energy generation and storage. To this end, Eglin Air Force Base recently issued a notice on January 28, inviting industry and academia to „identify promising technologies that can enhance system performance through improved electrical power capabilities.” The meeting is slated to take place at the Doolittle Institute in Niceville, Fla. New solutions could have diverse applications, ranging from ground installations to cutting-edge systems like „air vehicles, weapons and space.”
Ambitious Goals: From Drones to Guided Missiles
This initiative aims to identify promising ideas that could inform a potential „broad reaching battery and energy storage research program” and, if funding permits, subsequent contracts as early as fiscal year 2027. Key objectives include improving battery energy density by as much as two or three times current capacity, „particularly for” drone-based ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), „resilient space assets,” as well as „optimizing pulsed and continuous power output to satisfy weapon system demands.”
The DAF is also interested in improvements for more bespoke, energy-dense batteries typical in military systems. For example, missiles typically use power sources known as thermal batteries, which power in-flight functions like guidance systems. Extending the amount of power these batteries provide could „dramatically increase the range and time-on-station” of munitions and the platforms meant to carry them.
Supply Chain Security and Standardization
The effort also aims to shore up the domestic supply chain – whose minerals and components often have foreign sources, particularly from China – along with codifying new safety and certification processes. Research will additionally try to foster „standardization and modularity” to „improve interoperability and reduce costs” among various systems. Dual-use applications, where appropriate, are considered „in the government’s best interest” and can help bolster supply chains, though the DAF will implement safeguards to prevent over-reliance on market whims.
A Coordinated National Effort: DOE’s JOULES-1K Program
The Air Force is far from the only government entity pursuing research in better battery technology. The DAF regularly consults with organizations like the Defense Advanced Battery Working Group and the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries to „maximize the impact of battery and power technology advancements.” One notable effort is the JOULES-1K program with the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E). Through JOULES-1K, ARPA-E is working toward an ambitious „step-change”: boosting battery energy density by as much as four times beyond prevailing lithium-ion designs.
Transformative Potential and Future Challenges
If successful, the program could unlock new capabilities for vehicles, ships, and aircraft. For example, all-electric aircraft have recently hit stumbling blocks due to limits of current power generation technology, leading the Air Force to turn to hybrid-electric designs for some of its own projects. With more powerful batteries, all-electric solutions could be within reach for some air vehicles, and even smaller systems like drones could see substantial performance gains.
JOULES-1K, now in its second phase, involves six academic and industry teams working to demonstrate functional prototypes. The objective is to surpass the performance of current lithium-ion batteries, offering solutions that are cost-competitive and based on US supply chains. While achieving a fourfold increase in energy density is „challenging,” initial results are promising, indicating a breakthrough beyond a factor of two. „We only continue on if we have viable technology,” emphasizes the program director.
