Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is contributing AI-enabled payload optimization and advanced modeling and simulation expertise to Aires Tide, a collaborative National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) demonstration exploring new ways to design flight test vehicles.
Developed in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Kansas City National Security Campus, Aires Tide brings together expertise across design, manufacturing and flight testing in a single cross-enterprise effort. The project is also an early example of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Genesis Mission in practice, illustrating how AI can help connect those capabilities in a more integrated engineering workflow for national security applications.
The project reached an important milestone with a successful May 19 drop test of a half-scale Aires Tide vehicle at the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. The test generated flight data that will help the team assess performance, validate modeling and simulation results, and refine future designs.
For LLNL, the project centers on using AI-driven optimization, physics-based modeling and large-scale simulation to evaluate payload configurations and engineering tradeoffs more efficiently. In the project's design workflow, LLNL researchers applied advanced computational tools to explore complex design spaces and support a co-design approach in which components are developed as part of an integrated system rather than in isolation.
"Aires Tide reflects the kind of mission innovation that Livermore and its nuclear security enterprise partners are advancing for the nation's security," said Lab Director Kim Budil. "For LLNL, this effort demonstrates how we can bring our advanced capabilities in high-performance computing (HPC) and AI, design and engineering to this collaboration to accelerate development cycles and support future national security needs."
The project moved from concept to multiple prototype builds in about five months, a process that would traditionally take years, according to researchers. Across the collaboration, researchers designed, built and tested several versions of the vehicle, including smaller-scale test articles and a full-scale 11-foot prototype planned for display as part of the Freedom 250 "Great American State Fair" event on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., later this summer.
The cone-shaped fuselage was printed as nested parts that could be separated and reassembled, an approach that significantly reduced production time and cost. The final display version was manufactured using laser powder bed fusion, an additive manufacturing (3D printing) process suited for producing complex, high-performance metal structures.
LLNL focused on optimizing payloads for various performance characteristics, while Sandia and LANL contributed complementary design and integration expertise. That work helped the team assess how internal payload elements could be arranged and optimized for performance under demanding flight conditions.
"One of the most important aspects of Aires Tide is its potential to accelerate the full engineering cycle for strategic deterrence and stockpile modernization, from initial design work through production and experimental validation," said LLNL Deputy Director for Strategic Deterrence Brad Wallin. "That ability to connect AI-driven optimization with simulation, fabrication and test data will help us move faster while making better-informed decisions at every stage."
Researchers and engineers created Aires Tide as a concept demonstrator rather than a production system. For LLNL and its NNSA partners, the project is a tangible exemplar of a broader goal: connecting AI-enabled design, HPC, advanced manufacturing and experimental feedback in a closed-loop process that will accelerate development across the national security enterprise.
