Center for Rapid Innovation

The United States Air Force Research Laboratory's Center for Rapid Innovation experiments with the latest technology to provide for urgent operational needs (often within 12-18 months). Under AFRL’s Rapid Innovation process, critical operational needs from warfighters, system program offices, or senior military leadership are referred to the Center for Rapid Innovation, with the approval of the AFRL Commander. CRI draws on user, industry, academia, and laboratory subject matter experts to form a multi-disciplinary team tailored to the nature of each problem to create rapidly-evolved, deployed prototypes. Later, users often work with their acquisition agents to pursue programs of record.