Who We Are

The Vehicle Research Section is comprised of aeronautical, aerospace, electrical and mechanical engineers, scientists and technicians dedicated to advancing the state-of-the-art in unmanned systems technology.

• Head, Vehicle Research Section - Alvin Cross
• Senior Scientist for Expendable Vehicles - Richard J. Foch

What We Do

The Vehicle Research Section conducts research to develop technologies for autonomous, affordably expendable, unmanned systems that carry a wide variety of payloads for numerous mission scenarios.

Our Partners

The VRS works closely with researchers throughout the Laboratory. For complete systems development the VRS collaborates with Optical Sciences, Chemistry, Space Sciences, and other NRL Divisions.

The VRS has partnerships with other government agencies, universities, and businesses.

History

The Vehicle Research Section has been conducting research in unmanned systems technologies since the mid 1970s. Initially the focus was solely on developing expendable vehicle platforms to carry electronic payloads for ship's self protection, but the technologies developed for these platforms were directly applicable to the entire unmanned systems industry. Our timeline chart provides an "at a glance" look at the past 30 years.

Contact Information

For VRS specific questions, please send email to vrs@nrl.navy.mil

For media requests, please contact the NRL Public Affairs Office
(www.nrl.navy.mil/pao, 202-767-2541, info@pao.nrl.navy.mil)

Job Opportunities

Students: Each year the Vehicle Research Section hires students interested in the unmanned systems industry for summer internship positions. This is an excellent opportunity for engineering students to get hands on experience with vehicle systems design, analysis and testing. For additional information contact vrs@nrl.navy.mil and visit the NRL Student Programs page.

For Professional hires: If working in the Vehicle Research Section sounds like your dream job, contact us at vrs@nrl.navy.mil. Requirements generally include a B.S, M.S. or PhD. in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or Computer Engineering, or Physics, a minimum 3.0 GPA, and U.S. Citizenship. General NRL job openings are posted on the NRL Human Resource Office website.