NOVELTY - Alkali metal oxygen battery cell (10) comprises: (a) an alkali metal anode (120) having a major active surface; and (b) a partially dry porous cathode architecture (110A) adjacent to the anode major active surface. The partially dry architecture comprises a first and second porous region each having a different porous structure and further comprises a certain volume of liquid electrolyte. The first porous region serves as an electron transfer medium.    USE - The alkali metal oxygen battery cell is useful as electrochemical energy storage devices including lithium-sulfur batteries, lithium-oxygen batteries and sodium-air batteries.    ADVANTAGE - The alkali metal oxygen battery cell exhibits high specific energy and improved cell performance including discharge and/or charge rate, cycle life and delivered capacity density.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - Alkali metal oxygen battery cell (10) comprises: (a) an alkali metal anode (120) having a major active surface; and (b) a partially dry porous cathode architecture (110A) adjacent to the anode major active surface. The partially dry architecture comprises a first and second porous region each having a different porous structure and further comprises a certain volume of liquid electrolyte. The first porous region serves as an electron transfer medium, provides active surface sites for electron transfer, access for molecular oxygen to enter the cathode architecture, and has a first region total pore volume. The second porous region is not an electron transfer region, is in pore communication with the first porous region, is disposed adjacent to the anode major surface and has a second region total pore volume, where certain volume of liquid electrolyte is greater than the total pore volume of the second region but less than the cumulative total pore volumes of the first and second regions, and certain volume of liquid electrolyte is the amount present in the architecture immediately prior to and upon initial cell operation. INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are also included for:    (1) a metal oxygen battery cell comprising (a) as above per se, and a cathode architecture having a flooded electrolyte configuration and disposed adjacent to the anode major active surface, where the architecture comprises a first and second porous region each having a different porous structure and further comprising a liquid electrolyte, and the liquid electrolyte imbibes all the pores in the first and second region;    (2) making a metal oxygen battery cell, comprising (a1) providing an alkali metal anode having a major active surface, (b1) providing a porous cathode architecture having a first and second porous region, where the first porous region comprises liquid electrolyte filled pores having surfaces on which oxygen molecules are electro-reduced during cell discharge, and the second porous region, (c1) configuring the anode major active surface adjacent to the cathode architecture, and opposing the architecture second porous region, and (d1) filling the cathode architecture with a volume of liquid electrolyte that is greater than the second region total pore volume but less than the combined total pore volume of the first and second regions; and    (3) making a metal oxygen battery cell, comprising (a1) as above per se, providing a porous cathode architecture having first and second porous layers, where the first porous layer comprises a porous solid electron transfer medium for electro-reducing oxygen molecules, configuring the cathode architecture adjacent to the alkali metal anode with the second porous layer opposing, and in direct contact with, the first major anode active surface, and dispensing an amount of liquid electrolyte into the porous cathode architecture that is insufficient to fill all the pores of the first and second layers, where the cell is operated having the insufficient amount of liquid electrolyte.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure shows a schematic cross sectional view of the battery cell.    Alkali metal oxygen battery cell (100)    Porous cathode architecture (110A)    Anode (120)    Housing (150)    Molecular oxygen-permeable outer casing wall (155)