Morphorm
Jul 17, 2026
STRIKE project will apply structure-preserving machine learning to deliver real-time modeling of morphing aerostructures under extreme thermo-mechanical conditions
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Morphorm LLC announces it has been selected by AFWERX for a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract focused on STRIKE (Structure-preserving Thermomechanical Reduced-order Inference for Kinetic Environments) to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution. The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded and now on June 17, 2026, Morphorm LLC will start its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.
The foundational physics of morphing aircraft systems in hypersonic environments remains an open problem with broad national security implications, where data is scarce and traditional modeling requires an unwieldy stack of individually calibrated models spanning atomistic to continuum scales. Under this Phase I effort, Morphorm will demonstrate the technical feasibility of a structure-preserving machine learning approach for reduced-order modeling of fluid-structure interaction in aeroelastic structures operating under extreme thermo-mechanical conditions. Unlike popular black-box machine learning approaches, Morphorm's models embed concepts from modern physics and finite elements to provide rigorous guarantees of numerical stability, conservation, and thermodynamic consistency. The resulting models couple non-invasively with existing Department of Defense high-performance computing tools, enabling real-time design iteration for morphing aircraft concepts and, more broadly, for defense systems where first-principles modeling is intractable.
"Structures that must adapt and survive in hypersonic flight demand modeling tools that are both fast and physically trustworthy. Today's engineering workflows force a choice between the two," said Miguel A. Aguilo, PhD, Founder and CEO of Morphorm. "STRIKE closes that gap with reduced-order models learned from high-fidelity data that honor conservation laws and thermodynamics by construction, yet run fast enough to drive real-time design iteration. We are grateful to AFWERX and the Air Force Research Laboratory for the opportunity to put this capability to work for the Department of the Air Force and, ultimately, for the warfighter."
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of War, or the U.S. government.
About Morphorm
Morphorm LLC, founded in 2022 and headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, delivers physics-informed AI that accelerates hardware design across electrical, thermal, and structural domains simultaneously, reducing design timelines from months to days. Built on a suite of Sandia National Laboratories-pedigreed open-source libraries, Morphorm's optimization-first platform combines GPU-accelerated multiphysics simulation, structure-preserving machine learning, and design under uncertainty to produce risk-tolerant designs for contested, degraded, and extreme operational environments. Morphorm's team brings deep national laboratory expertise, with prior senior roles at Sandia, Los Alamos, and Idaho National Laboratories supporting DOE, DARPA, AFRL, ARL, and NNSA programs. For more information, visit morphorm.com.
About AFRL
The Air Force Research Laboratory is the Department of the Air Force's primary scientific research and development center and one of six centers within Air Force Materiel Command. AFRL leads the discovery, development and delivery of technologies for air, space and the multidomain. With a workforce spanning seven mission areas at more than 40 locations worldwide, AFRL conducts research ranging from basic science to advanced technology development. For more information, visit afresearchlab.com.
About AFWERX
As the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force and a division within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings American ingenuity from small businesses and startups to solve the most pressing challenges facing Airmen and Guardians. Headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, AFWERX strengthens the defense industrial base by expanding access to nontraditional vendors, building new defense partnerships and accelerating the transition of critical technologies to operational capability. In fiscal year 2025, AFWERX awarded more than 1,000 contracts totaling $1.37 billion and achieved 438 Phase III transitions valued at $8.1 billion, supercharging the industrial base that supports U.S. military readiness and battlefield advantage. For more information, visit afwerx.com.
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Morphorm
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