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  • A member of the Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick AFB, Fla., uses a diluted solution of ethanol and deionized water to sanitize items within the nuclear treaty monitoring center in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. (U.S. Air Force photo by Matthew S. Jurgens)

    Pandemic can’t stop AFTAC’s innovative Airmen

    As cleaning and disinfecting supplies rapidly disappeared from store shelves and warehouse stockrooms, demand far outweighed the availability of these products to protect against COVID-19. The Air Force Technical Applications Center at Patrick AFB, Fla., was no different. So what does the organization that’s charged with conducting vital ‘round-the-clock operations do to ensure its Airmen are safe? One word: Innovate.
  • Staff Sgt. Daniel Robinson, 2nd Combat Weather Systems Squadron weather systems trainer from Hurlburt Field, Florida, explains a Doppler system to Mountain Home Air Force Base weather system personnel May 25, 2019, at Mountain Home Air Force Base. The is the first time the Doppler system has been installed on a Continental United States base. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tyrell Hall)

    Mountain Home AFB: First to use Portable Doppler Radar for CONUS Ops

    Weather can be an unrelenting force and infamously fickle. Severe weather can adversely affect the safety of aircrew and Airmen working in the elements. Fortunately, advanced radars with weather forecasting capabilities can mitigate the associated risks. Keeping constant surveillance on weather patterns and their potential hazards is an important step in enhancing readiness and safety of Airmen. Until recently, this often proved to be a challenge when local radars needed to undergo routine maintenance or upgrades. Mountain Home Air Force Base is the first to show how Portable Doppler Radars (PDRs) can be used to support continental United States (CONUS) operations to fix this problem.
  • A 55th Security Forces Squadron member displays a action camera on his vest Jan. 31, 2019, on Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. The defenders recently purchased several cameras in order to improve training and readiness. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake)

    Defenders caught on camera: Innovation funds the culprit

    Improving readiness just got a whole lot easier for the 55th Security Forces Squadron who used innovation funds to purchase several action cameras. They recently put the cameras to the test for the first time during an active shooter exercise at the 55th Wing Legal Offices. “The cameras allow for multiple angles and remove officer and bystander perception from the training as it is captured with the devices,” said Tech. Sgt. Raymond Santiago, 55th SFS Operations Support NCO in charge. “During intense situations, adrenaline increases, which can cause misjudgment or misrepresentation of the truth. The camera alleviated the singular point of failure and allowed our team to pin point and walk through the scenarios with real-time accuracy.”
  • A new metallic 3D printed part alongside the aluminum part it will replace on an F-22 Raptor during depot repair at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Jan 16, 2019. The new titanium part will not corrode and can be procured faster and at less cost than the conventionally manufactured part. (U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw)

    First metallic 3D printed part installed on F-22

    The use of 3D printing is not new to the Air Force. The service has routinely used 3D printing for legacy aircraft requiring parts that may be out of production due to manufacturing obsolescence. 3D printing is becoming more common place in the Air Force’s supply chain when it comes to its fifth-generation aircraft. In December, a metallic 3D printed part was installed by 574th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron maintainers on an operational F-22 Raptor during depot maintenance.
  • Viewing one of the 3-D displays during JWID97 execution is General Malchase D. Shalikashvili, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and General John J. Sheehan, Supreme Allied Command Atlantic, NATO, 1997. (Courtesy of the Mr. Thomas P. Korte)

    Computing Technology and Advancements of the 1990s

    Each decade brings its own innovations, but through the wealth of advancements in computing and networking technologies, the 1990s were truly a revolutionary time in the history of the Air Force. Associated organizational changes also foundationally re-shaped the way the Air Force managed communications and further transformed the military’s approach to traditional warfare.
  • The 366th Fighter Wing is designing solutions and improving processes with the Gunfighter Spark Cell innovation competition, a program designed to allow Airmen to submit recommendations for improving processes within their workplaces. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration by Airman 1st Class JaNae Capuno)

    Gunfighter Spark Cell brings innovation to the 366th FW

    The 366th Fighter Wing is designing solutions and improving processes with the Gunfighter Spark Cell innovation competition, a program designed to allow Airmen to submit recommendations for improving processes within their workplaces. Base leadership believes the innovation competition brought several ideas that will better the Air Force as a whole. Inspiration for the innovation competition sprouted from leaders wanting to hear from Airmen on how they could improve their daily tasks, enhance readiness, build leaders, take care of Airmen and families, and develop trust among mission focused Airmen.
  • 2018 Installation and Mission Support Weapons and Tactics Conference attendees read about one of the four mission area working group chairmen who led a team to think innovatively in tackling one of the Air Force’s toughest agile combat support challenges during the San Antonio event out-brief. The May 16 out-brief presented proposed solutions to about 1,000 senior Air Force leaders and members of the installation and mission support community.

    AFIMSC continues to innovate in 2019

    The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center has been at the innovation forefront since it stood up in 2015, and it's taking it to the next level in 2019. In addition to more than 50 innovations fielded to date that are having a positive effect on installation and mission support operations, the organization’s commitment to be the I&MS innovation leader took a major step forward with the stand-up of an innovation office in November. Chief among AFIMSC’s innovations is the annual Installation and Mission Support Weapons and Tactics Conference (I-WEPTAC). The Air Force’s only I&MS innovation forum develops solutions for challenges facing the agile combat support community.
  • Red Flag 18-03

    Red Flag 18-3: readiness through innovation, integration and interoperability

    Red Flag exercises provide mission commanders, maintenance personnel, ground controllers, and air, space and cyber operators the opportunity to experience realistic combat scenarios to prepare for future warfare. the Colombian Air Force will participate in the exercise to enhance training and foster enduring relationships through shared participation in operations. The Colombian Air Force’s participation for this iteration of Red Flag is building on our two countries’ long-standing partnership and cooperation. We continue to learn from each other and the insight we gain into each other’s operations ensures we maintain a high level of mutual readiness.
  • Senior Airman Erik Tatro, left, a programmer with the 595th Strategic Communications Squadron (SCS), and Senior Airman Gregory Salopek, also a programmer with the 595th SCS, sit at a computer in the 595th SCS offices at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, January 12, 2018. Both Airmen participated in a DOD-Silicon Valley partnership in San Francisco in 2017, helping to create a program that would increase the efficiency of the aerial refueling scheduling process.

    595th SCS Airmen participate in DOD-Silicon Valley partnership

    Picture a room. There are four pilots in flight suits, busy at work – one scribbling on a white board, two moving magnetic pucks around next to the scribbles and the last drawing out equations on graph paper. The room, located in the Combined Air operations Center at Al Udeid, Qatar, is tense. They’ve been at work for hours, and they have hours
  • Katherine Segovia, Executive Education Head of Learning Experience Design at Stanford University Design School, is assisted while putting on an Air Force U-2 Dragon Lady flight suit as part of her visit for a design thinking seminar on the Inaugural Design Day

    Beale Airmen, Stanford Design School professors collaborate to inspire creative thinking, innovation

    More than two dozen Airmen walked into the conference room and were greeted by their instructors-- three Stanford University Design School professors. In eager anticipation, they took their seats at various tables. Each table had an assortment of scratch paper, sticky notes, pens and pencils—essentials for brainstorming and creative thinking.
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