Composites Affordability Initiative

In the mid-1990’s, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) recognized that despite the potential of advanced composites to drastically reduce aircraft structural weight compared to conventional metal structures, the aircraft industry was reluctant to implement them in new aircraft. Although composites were applied on the F-15, F-16, and F-18 in small percentages, data showed that composite applications had reached a plateau. For example, despite early projections of the F-22 airframe being 50% composite by weight, it ultimately settled back to 25% (Fig. 1). Therefore, AFRL launched the Composites Affordability Initiative (CAI) to address perceived risks and barriers. What resulted was a team consisting of personnel from the AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (AFRL/ML) and Air Vehicles Directorate, the Office of Naval ResearchManTech, Bell Helicopter Textron, The Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Northrop Grumman Corporation. Ultimately, the effort cost $152M and took eleven years.