The school currently has 13 departments, institutes (or centers), covering 5 first-level disciplines and 15 second-level disciplines, including 2 national key first-level disciplines and 9 national key second-level disciplines. In the first-level discipline rankings of universities conducted in 2012, the four first-level disciplines that the school participated in all achieved the top five in China. The school has also established 2 national key laboratories, 7 provincial and ministerial key laboratories, and 3 national defense key discipline laboratories.

Aiming at the fields of national defense and aerospace, combining with major national needs and relying on inter-discipline, the school has formed distinctive features and unique advantages. It has undertaken a large number of major national security basic research, major national science and technology projects, national 973/863, key projects of NSFC and other national major research tasks. Major national-level scientific research tasks have reached the international advanced level in research fields such as advanced composite materials, space laser communications, guidance and control, and background measurement payloads. In recent years, the school has won more than 200 awards at or above the provincial and ministerial level, including more than 30 national awards. In the past three years, the school has accumulated more than 1.3 billion RMB in scientific research funds and published more than 1,000 high-level articles annually. It has formed a sustainable development capability focusing on applied basic research and cutting-edge technology exploration along with the key technology research and engineering technology applications, and has become an important research base in the fields of national defense and aerospace in China.