Research for Integrated Vehicle Aerodynamic Technologies (RIVAT) | FA8650 19 S 2003

Opportunity Information: Apply for FA8650 19 S 2003

Research for Integrated Vehicle Aerodynamic Technologies (RIVAT) is a Department of Defense opportunity run by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), specifically the Aerospace Vehicles Division (RQV) within the Aerospace Systems Directorate (RQ). The program is focused on advancing the aerodynamic science, modeling, and enabling technologies that influence Air Force vehicle performance and mission effectiveness. It supports research and development efforts that improve the understanding and prediction of complex aerodynamic behavior, especially where multiple disciplines intersect (for example, aerodynamics coupled with structures, propulsion, controls, or mission systems). The work AFRL is interested in spans analytical theory, computational approaches (including high-fidelity simulation and reduced-order models), and experimental testing, with an emphasis on research that can translate into better vehicle integration and design decisions for both current platforms and future concepts.

A major pillar of RIVAT is fundamental and applied fluid dynamics, with the goal of deepening understanding of both internal and external flow physics that directly affect flight performance. AFRL highlights interest in unsteady and highly coupled flow phenomena, including fluid-structure interaction cases like jet impingement, propeller slipstream interactions, and vortex impingement. The intent is not just to study these effects in isolation, but to turn improved physical understanding into practical prediction tools and design methods that can be incorporated into next-generation air vehicles.

Another key area is aircraft design and system enhancements, aimed at improving the engineering processes and tools used to create new vehicle concepts and upgrade existing systems. This includes performing trade studies that compare emerging technologies or different maturation paths and that help decision makers weigh benefits against costs, schedule, and risk. AFRL is specifically interested in work that addresses trade-offs in modeling fidelity, incorporates mission- or effectiveness-based design considerations, and treats uncertainty and sensitivity in a rigorous way so design choices are better informed under real-world constraints.

Flow control applications are also a central theme, covering both passive and active techniques that can be designed into modifications of existing aircraft or built into future vehicles from the start. Example application areas include control of aerial refueling booms, managing flow separation and reattachment, increasing lift, and improving stability and control across the full flight envelope. AFRL notes the importance of models at different levels of complexity, including reduced-order modeling, to match the intended use case. Just as important is evaluating integration and operational impacts, such as size, weight, power demands, efficiency penalties, and how these factors shape the feasibility of flow control concepts in an actual vehicle program.

RIVAT also targets weapons integration and cavity flow, recognizing that unsteady flow physics in and around weapons bays and multi-body configurations can strongly affect store carriage, separation, trajectories, and vehicle-store interactions. The same kinds of aerodynamic challenges appear around external stores and protuberances like turrets and antennae, as well as around propulsion-related flows such as inlets and bleed air dynamics. Because these environments often require complex, unsteady models to capture the dominant effects, AFRL emphasizes the practical need to balance high-fidelity physics with efficient use of computational and test resources.

Propulsion integration is another priority, focusing on the coupled aerodynamics between the airframe and propulsion system that can unlock better overall vehicle performance. AFRL is interested in understanding and modeling the distortions and interaction effects seen by embedded fans, which can enable more efficient, higher-bypass engines for transonic vehicles. At supersonic conditions, the program calls out the importance of shock wave/boundary layer interactions and other viscous effects that become increasingly mission-critical. Specific modern integration concepts named include Over-the-Wing Nacelles (OWN), Distributed Propulsion (DP), and Boundary Layer Ingestion (BLI), all of which can offer performance gains but introduce demanding coupled-flow challenges that must be accurately predicted and managed.

The program also includes aero-optics interactions, which matter when vehicles employ directed energy or other energy beams that must propagate through disturbed flow near the aircraft. AFRL is concerned with beam degradation caused by turbulence, separation, shock waves, and density fluctuations, especially around external features like turrets that can generate strong unsteady distortions. The opportunity encourages both improved modeling of these aero-optic effects and technology approaches that could mitigate losses so the mission system performs as intended.

Finally, RIVAT explicitly values technology applications and operational analysis, meaning modeling and simulation work that connects aerodynamic technologies to mission outcomes and realistic employment concepts. This part of the program is about evaluating how emerging capabilities address operational challenges, defining meaningful effectiveness metrics, and using operationally grounded analysis to guide research priorities. In practice, this can include studying not only new hardware concepts, but also new processes, alternative tactics, and different ways of integrating technologies so Air Force research and development resources are directed toward the highest-impact solutions.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed under Funding Opportunity Number FA8650-19-S-2003 and falls under CFDA 12.800 for Air Force defense research sciences. The agency indicates awards may be made through cooperative agreements and/or procurement contracts, with an expected total of around 10 awards. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open broadly to qualified entity types), subject to any additional eligibility language in the full notice. The listing shows a creation date of May 7, 2019 and an original closing date of May 9, 2023, and it reports an award ceiling of 0, which typically signals that funding levels are determined per project or per solicitation action rather than capped by a single fixed maximum in the summary fields.

• The Department of Defense, Air Force -- Research Lab in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research for Integrated Vehicle Aerodynamic Technologies (RIVAT)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.800.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 07, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 09, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for FA8650 19 S 2003

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