The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Autonomy Capability Team (ACT3) is presented as an artificial intelligence special operations organization charged with operationalizing artificial intelligence at scale for the Air Force and Space Force. Commissioned by the AFRL commander, the group adopts a startup-style business model that blends academic vision, the flexibility of an artificial intelligence startup, and production-grade development discipline. ACT3 emphasizes bringing leading academic and commercial artificial intelligence researchers under one roof to define the shortest path to transitioning solutions, whether through novel technologies or new implementations of existing capabilities.
A centerpiece of ACT3’s approach is the Air and Space Force Cognitive Engine (ASCE), a license free, integrated software suite designed to let users develop artificial intelligence solutions on any Kubernetes cluster, from laptops to large compute environments. ASCE provides full GPU support, data packaging, discovery and delivery, and a collaborative environment for research, prototyping, continuous testing and deployment. The vision is to place artificial intelligence tools in the hands of every Airman, enabling do-it-yourself experimentation and rapid iteration. Cited use cases span business processes such as civilian hiring and contract monitoring, predictive maintenance, automated air combat operations, aircraft damage inspection, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, additive manufacturing and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The platform is positioned to lower barriers to large-scale computational science across the department.
The page details leadership and domain leads, including Director Matthew T. Muha and Dr. Steven K. Rogers, senior scientist for automatic target recognition and sensor fusion and artificial intelligence enabled autonomy. Additional roles highlighted include Deputy Director Maj. Michael Barnhart, Chief Technology Officer Dr. Michael J. Mendenhall, Chief Scientist Professor Gilbert L. Peterson, Chief Integrator Dr. Juan R. Vasquez, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Dr. Hamilton Scott Clouse, Director of Artificial Intelligence Development and Transition Dr. Terry Allen Wilson, Safe Autonomy and Space Lead Kyle Dunlap, Reinforcement Training Lead Benjamin K. Heiner, Senior Neuroscientist Dr. Kevin D. Schmidt, Chief Artificial Intelligence Visionary Dr. Doug Riecken and Chief of Artificial Intelligence Alignment Mia Kollia.
ACT3 also hosts weekly QuEST talks that explore frontiers in artificial intelligence research and cognition. Upcoming and recent sessions examine neurosymbolic methods, the S3Q framework of consciousness, human machine teaming metaphors, emergent synergy in complex systems and the relationship between implicit and explicit memory. The site further explains what artificial intelligence is and why it matters to the Air Force, aligning with the 2019 National Security Strategy’s call for a scalable path that links opportunities to Department of Defense requirements. Endorsements from prominent researchers underscore ACT3’s emphasis on integrating diverse learning and reasoning techniques and advancing continuous learning within dynamic system architectures.
