Ohio, Air Force Research Laboratory renew economic development partnership

BEAVERCREEK — The state of Ohio and the Air Force’s chief research and science arm renewed an agreement to share knowledge and technical know-how Monday, agreeing to find ways to foster mutually beneficial economic development in Ohio.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Brig. Gen. Jason Bartolomei, commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) documents at the Pentagon Tower Club.

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“This is a relationship that is vitally important to the state of Ohio, and I hope, general, vitally important to the Air Force,” DeWine said to Bartolomei in a joint press conference announcing the continued partnership.

Bartolomei called Ohio “a vital partner.”

“This memorandum represents a shared vision of the future,” the one-star general said.

Credit: Bryant Billing

Credit: Bryant Billing

Headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, AFRL is the primary scientific research and development center for the Air Force. Wright-Patterson itself is a hugely important economic engine for the Dayton area and the state, being Ohio’s largest single-site employer with some 38,000 military and civilian employees and a reliable magnet for high-paying defense industry jobs.

“The brainpower we have at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is unsurpassed anywhere in the world,” DeWine said.

DeWine credited Wright-Patterson’s importance and location with attracting industry players such as Joby Aviation and Anduril Industries to the state.

The governor singled out for praise the SkyVision system at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, a system that allows Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) control in the national airspace system for drone operators.

Credit: Bryant Billing

“The future of Ohio is tied very, very closely to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,” DeWine said, adding: “What’s going on in Springfield is also vitally important.”

Springfield-Beckley is also home to the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence that supports research at Wright-Patterson, AFRL, NASA and a host of private companies.

In 2007, the state and the Air Force signed a similar memorandum of understanding.

“This partnership will enable AFRL to engage with the state of Ohio at a higher level to maximize AFRL and state of Ohio collaboration opportunities,” Maj. Gen. Curtis Bedke, then AFRL commander, said at the time.

Based at Wright-Patterson, AFRL performs Air Force-focused research with more than 12,500 employees across the world.