2025 Spark Tank winner announced
ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) -- The Department of the Air Force announced its winner for the 2025 Spark Tank competition, during a ceremony at the Pentagon, Dec. 3.
The Airborne - Launcher for Expendables-25 Pylon Load Adapter product, developed by a team out of Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, was crowned the winner of this year’s Spark Tank competition. This Barksdale AFB team pioneered and prototyped a B-52 avionics pylon loading adapter using existing weapons-loading equipment.
The ALE 25 Pylon Loading Adapter was born out of real-world challenges faced by maintainers. By cutting task times from four hours to just 30 minutes and eliminating risky manual lifts, it’s transforming safety and efficiency for B-52H Stratofortress operations.
As Senior Master Sgt. John Slaughter, 307th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron production superintendent, put it, “We saw the strain on our Airmen and knew we could build something better.”
The product maximized safety, security, and efficiency for critical nuclear platforms and impacted 4,500 aircraft maintenance personnel across three wings.
Spark Tank is an annual competition during which Airmen and Guardians pitch innovative ideas to the top Department of the Air Force leadership and a panel of industry experts.
This year, the Spark Tank judging panel included Under Secretary of the Air Force Matt Lohmeier, Lt. Gen. Scott Pleus (acting) VCSAF, Director of Staff, Headquarters Air Force, Gen. Shawn Bratton, Vice Chief of Space Operations, Chief Master Sgt. Christopher Cole, who sat in for the Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force, and Chief Master Sgt. Rodolfo Gamez, who sat in for the Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force.
“This year's Spark Tank campaign once again proved that our Airmen and Guardians don't just show up to do their work ... they think critically about how to ensure the work is done better, faster, or more reliably and sometimes with automations designed to minimize non-value-added time ... all designed to increase our mission capability in ways that matter," said Brou Gautier, Spark Tank director.
Back in January 2025, six submissions, from a record 441 submissions from across the Air Force and Space Force, were announced to compete as 2025 finalists.
The ALE-25 Pylon Loading Adapter had to compete against Project Star Forge, Roving Autonomous Vehicle Extending Networks, fan-favorite virtual In Processing, Power Resilience in Military Environments, and the Responsive Adjustable Dispenser.
Power Resilience in Military Environments (2nd place): This team worked across joint services and federal agencies to develop power solutions for expeditionary airfields, tactical communications, and humanitarian operations. Their product saved $1.5 million annually for each 250-personnel camp and redistributed 23 airlift missions for other operations. Through the AFWERX Refinery Cohort 17, the team led 12 rounds of testing for rapid adoption across all combatant commands and closed the gap on Air Force modernization for standing up bare bases.
Virtual In-Processing – Took “Fan Favorite” award: This team modernized personnel management processes and provided accountability across the DAF. They integrated metrics dashboards to streamline commander decision making and mitigated a 23,602-person historic discrepancy.
Responsive Adjustable Dispenser: The team engineered a capability to enable pre-launch satellite tuning to eliminate destructive vibrational loads and preserve mission timelines. It empowers crews to dynamically adjust load parameters and directly protect up to $300 million in national assets.
Project Star Forge: This team developed digital manufacturing for C-130J propulsion components and reduced an $89,000 legacy part down to $1 for training. They took their original design and created pathways for enterprise-wide scalability and enhance aircraft component preservation and Airmen training for 2,300 aircraft maintainers.
Roving Autonomous Vehicle for Extended Networks: This team revolutionized deployment readiness by employing rugged and portable swarms of rovers across an internal mesh network, saving 87.5% of set up preparation time in austere environments and increasing supported users by 650% over traditional communication applications. The solution eliminated work outages to provide continuous command and control within hostile environments.
“I was surprised that our idea won Spark Tank 2025,” said Tech. Sgt. Michael Miller, 702nd Maintenance Squadron C-N noncommissioned officer in charge. “It proves that no matter how simple or complex an idea may seem, Airmen should put their concept forward, because it might be the one that revolutionizes the Air Force or Space Force. Every project this year brought something valuable to the mission and I'm proud to have stood among such great minds.”