3 Mar 2021

Air Force discusses the future of energy efficiency

At this year’s Virtual Air Warfare Symposium, the Air Force Association held a panel on February 23rd with Department of the Air Force senior leaders titled “No Fuel, No Fight: The Future of Warfighting Energy Requirements.” The purpose of the panel was to discuss the inherent vulnerabilities fuel and energy present to troops, and plans to mitigate associated risks, streamline operations, and decrease carbon release as part of the Secretary of Defense’s climate change policy.

31 Aug 2020

Calculating risk in the fuel supply chain, X-Force fellows help inform operational plans

What’s the safest path to transport fuel from a refinery in Texas to storage in California? Does Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, have the pipeline capacity to sustain two weeks of operations after a storage disruption? What risk do cyber-attacks pose at a bulk storage terminal in Louisiana? X-Force Fellows assigned to Air Force Operational Energy at the Pentagon were tasked to answer these questions (among others) and develop a model to assess possible risk to the Air Force’s fuel supply chain.

30 Jul 2019

Bringing defense planning into the 21st century through modern software

For much of the defense community, the ease and functionality of modern technology is not translated to military planning systems. While cumbersome acquisitions processes, funding issues, and security concerns are often valid causes, many Department of Defense processes (and any software associated with them) cannot compete with the technology many Americans use regularly. In one corner the U.S. Air Force flies the most advanced aircraft in the world, yet in the other corner, Airmen use clunky spreadsheets and paper documents to analyze operations and mission plan.

12 Jun 2018

NATO focuses on big data and artificial intelligence

Members of the scientific and military communities from approximately 20 NATO countries came together to discuss leading developments in big data and artificial intelligence (AI) at the NATO Science and Technology Organization’s specialists meeting, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Military Decision Making, from May 30 – June 01, 2018 in Bordeaux, France. Deputy Asst. Secretary of the Air Force for Operational Energy, Roberto Guerrero, led the senior leader panel on June 01. Mr. Guerrero spoke of the importance of data collection and analysis for decision-making, while emphasizing the challenge his office faces in obtaining sufficient and accurate aviation fuel use and other operational data.