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  • Exercise Rapid Weasel enhances 52nd Fighter Wing innovation, readiness

    “Rapid Weasel was a demonstration of the 52nd FW’s ability to rapidly project combat power by opening an airfield, refueling and re-arming fighter aircraft, then quickly departing to other locations,” said Lt. Col. Leonardo Tongko, 435th Contingency Response Squadron commander.

  • Sustaining Global Supremacy

    Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson talks about adaptation and innovation in the Air Force throughout its history and how both play a key role in sustaining global supremacy. The speech was given Feb 28, 2019, at the Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Florida.

  • Innovation is in our DNA

    Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson talks about Air Force adaptation and innovation.

  • AFMETCAL updates NextGen

    The updates included fixes to software bugs and automated support capability for pieces of old and new Test, Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment.

  • Using dynamite and TNT to enhance nuclear mission

    With the assistance and expertise of explosive ordnance disposal Airmen from the 45th Civil Engineer Squadron, AFTAC’s Systems Development Directorate personnel tested a new system to determine if their creative ingenuity could be operationally deployed in the field.

  • AFIMSC partners with industry for future success

    That was the message delivered by presenters during the annual Air Force Installation and Mission Support Industry Day held in conjunction with AFIMSC’s Installation and Mission Support Weapons and Tactics Conference at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, April 9.

  • CSAF stresses importance of mission support role at I-WEPTAC

    The Air Force’s top general stressed the installation and mission support community’s role in the National Defense Strategy when he kicked off the 3rd Annual Installation and Mission Support Weapons and Tactics Conference, or I-WEPTAC, at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, April 8.

  • Robotic system advances minimally invasive surgery

    The 99th Surgical Operations Squadron, or MSGS, performed their first robotic general surgery using the da Vinci Surgery System, April 3, at the Mike O’Callaghan Military Medical Center at Nellis Air Force Base.

  • Military to bring eye care to front lines with mobile app

    Eye injuries in a deployed setting can be a significant setback for any Airman, but new telemedicine capabilities are helping to keep them in the fight. With funding from the 59th Medical Wing, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, Air Force and Army medical researchers are developing a HIPAA-compliant

  • Firefighter training goes virtual

    Firefighters train weekly to maintain readiness, so when the call comes to put their lives at risk for the people they serve, they are prepared.Whether in training or on a live fire, they are susceptible to various carcinogenic toxins - until now.

  • RAF partners with PTN to innovate pilot training pipeline

    It’s been said that “seeing is believing” and after a visit last May to the Pilot Training Next facility in Austin and facing a pilot shortage, the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force is taking innovation to the next level with the inclusion of a student and an instructor pilot in the second iteration

  • PTN innovations move to undergraduate pilot training

    Beginning May 31, 2019, flying training wings across Air Education and Training Command will formally begin integrating innovations from Pilot Training Next into the undergraduate pilot training curriculum, 19th Air Force officials announced at the PTN Technology Expo held March 12-13.

  • 16th TRS puts control of learning in students' hands

    Ensuring Airmen are ready to meet the joint-warfighting needs of today’s dynamic security environment in a way that moves with 21st century speed is a challenge faced in every training environment in Air Education and Training Command.

  • Innovation Rodeo moves ideas closer to reality

    Three innovative ideas to support worldwide warfighter success are one step closer to reality today thanks to the first Air Force Innovation Rodeo, $650,000 in total seed money and a partnership with AFWERX and tech accelerator companies.

  • Spangdahlem AB master sergeant wins Spark Tank competition

    Master Sgt. Jonathan Maas assigned to the 52nd Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, was named the 2019 Spark Tank winner during the Air Force’s Spark Tank competition at the Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium Feb. 28, in Orlando.

  • EQ-4 Global Hawk Controlled‘Beyond Line of Sight’

    One of the assets flying missions from Al Dhafra Air Base, is the EQ-4 Global Hawk. This remotely piloted aircraft previously required coordination with other bases to control it while in the air. Now by utilizing technology this process can be conducted locally.

  • Air Force awards $739M launch service contracts

    The U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), in partnership with the National Reconnaissance Office, awarded two Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) launch service contracts Feb. 19.

  • Financial Operations workshop features innovation

    Tech. Sgt. Samuel Spaethe used to spend hours upon hours completing work as a financial services technician, often working weeknights until 7 p.m. and then on Saturdays just to get the job done.

  • Donovan: Readiness, force lethality begins with training

    Under Secretary of the Air Force Matthew P. Donovan, the second highest ranking civilian in the Department of the Air Force, visited Sheppard on Feb. 14, 2019, to see how the Air Force’s largest and most diverse technical and undergraduate pilot training base is employing technology to train today’s

  • AFMC hiring effort draws new talent, faster

    With a command mission that relies heavily on a more than 65,000 person civilian workforce, recruiting, developing and retaining top talent is critical to success. This is the driving force behind the ongoing AFMC effort to transform the civilian hiring process across the enterprise to meet mission

  • Pegasus Wings its way to 97th AMW

    The 97th Air Mobility Wing welcomed its newest weapon system, the KC-46A Pegasus, to the official training unit of the Air Force’s state-of-the-art tanker aircraft at Altus Air Force Base, Feb. 8.

  • Pilot training moving at the speed of innovation

    The 80th Flying Training Wing is moving at the speed of innovation and is bound to only get faster as visionaries incorporate the latest in mixed realities to boost undergraduate pilot training.

  • Registration opens for 3rd annual I-WEPTAC

    The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center announces registration for the third annual Installation and Mission Support Weapons and Tactics Conference is open.

  • Kessel Run announces hiring event

    Kessel Run is looking for talent who can help the Air Force tackle its most vexing software issues, including the global Air Operations Center Weapon System and the F-35 Lightning II’s Autonomous Logistics Information System, or ALIS.

  • Hacking road map to physiological episodes mitigation in Air Force

    The Air Force Physiological Episodes Action Team, or AF PEAT, recently held a “hackathon” to update the service-wide road map to mitigate physiological episodes. Hackathons are sprint-like events where subject matter experts collaborate intensively to solve problems or establish a course of action.

  • AFIMSC Innovation Office seeks game-changing ideas

    The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Innovation Office will launch a program in the new year to help Airmen implement their innovative ideas. The campaign, open Jan. 1-31, 2019, gives military and civilian members of mission support groups worldwide a chance to fund their ideas and

  • Maker Hub, AFRL “sprint” to innovation

    To build strength and endurance, athletes perform “intervals” or short, intense periods of exertion designed for maximum benefit in the shortest time possible. Thanks to the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Maker Hub at the Wright Brothers Institute, that same kind of benefit is possible for some of

  • Global Hawk testers raise their hand

    At the commander’s call on Edwards Air Force Base, California, Brig. Gen. E. John Teichert stated that “Innovation is an Airmen, at any level, raising their hand to say, ‘I’ve got a better way to do business.’”The 452nd Flight Test Squadron is currently in the process of challenging the way the base

  • Kunsan Air Base revitalizes energy utilization

    The 8th Civil Engineer Squadron has launched its latest project to help Kunsan Air Base take its first steps in becoming more energy efficient and environmentally conscious by rolling out phase one of an infrastructure refresh plan with assistance from the Energy Savings Performance Contract.

  • AMC’s Phoenix Spark Tank competition recognizes innovation

    Air Mobility Command held its first-ever Phoenix Spark Tank competition at the Airlift/Tanker Association Symposium in Grapevine, Texas, where four finalists proposed their innovation ideas to top Air Force leaders and the president of VOX Space Oct. 26.

  • JCAT Airman uses combat forensics to evolve the AFCENT mission

    The ideal outcome of any conflict is to achieve victory and come out the other side unscathed. However, an undesired outcome does not mean lessons cannot be learned and applied for future conflicts. The United States military has used this mentality since its inception and applies it today in the

  • FYI: Continuum of Learning

    The Continuum of Learning initiative is a shift to better focus how Airmen learn by integrating education, training and experience in ways that allow them to learn anytime, anywhere throughout their careers. The end goal is to create a culture of lifelong learning. FYI- For all the stuff you need to

  • Cyber Airmen fuel innovation

    Cyber Airmen assigned to the 557th Weather Wing recently teamed with the Defense Innovation Unit program to improve how airborne tankers’ scheduling.

  • Edwards AFB creates aerial refueling test tool to save time, money

    Leadership across the Air Force want their workforce to focus on innovation every day, whether it is making things better, more efficient, or saving money. A small team at Edwards Air Force Base can now check off all those boxes with their custom-built test tool designed to cut down test costs and

  • Air Force Technical Applications Center uses failure to evolve

    In 2013, AFTAC formed an Innovation Lab to find ways to improve and accomplish their mission by developing concepts and technologies faster and cheaper. But the number one reason for establishing the lab was to enable innovators within the center to take calculated risks and evolve from failure to

  • PEO Digital will change global AF software acquisition

    Dr. Will Roper, the Air Force's senior civilian acquisition leader, redesignated Program Executive Office Battle Management as PEO Digital, to be headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, Sept. 17.

  • Air Force Senior Leaders announce 2019 Spark Tank Competition

    Enlisted, officer and government employees may now submit their innovative ideas for the 2019 Air Force Spark Tank Competition.The competition calls for Airmen to pitch their innovative ideas to the Air Force’s senior leaders through the the IdeaScale Ideation platform at usaf.ideascalegov.com, and

  • XPX team innovates solar power comm system

    With the help of 3-D printing and community partnerships, the Plans and Programs innovation team at McConnell Air Force Base created a portable, solar-powered communications system.

  • Chill, cryogenics has what you need

    Providing the base and various other units on the island with cryogenic products – whether it be in a liquid or gaseous form – is the plant’s priority.

  • USDA net system reduces aviation bird strikes

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture works with safety teams around the Air Force to limit the presence of birds on and around airfields to protect aircraft from bird strikes, an issue that costs the Air Force millions of dollars every year in damages.

  • Flying training reimagined as first PTN class graduates

    The Air Force’s pilot training landscape took a significant step forward in reimagining how Airmen learn to fly as 13 students from the first iteration of Pilot Training Next pinned on their silver wings in a ceremony Aug. 3, at the Armed Forces Reserve Center, Austin, Texas.

  • SecAF Wilson returns to RAF Mildenhall, discusses innovation, strategy

    When then 2nd Lt. Heather Wilson joined the Air Force in 1985, her very first assignment was to the 3rd Air Force at RAF Mildenhall. Now, Secretary of the Air Force Wilson returned to RAF Mildenhall July 12, to learn about the new innovations the Airmen have since created, and to speak about the

  • Air Force Tech Report: Pilot Training Next

    The Air Force is searching for new ways to train pilots more efficiently and quickly. Leveraging virtual and augmented reality is a key part of the experimental Pilot Training Next program. It’s an effort that could help streamline the Air Force effort to quickly get qualified pilots in the air.

  • Vehicle Management welds fuel tanks back to life

    Without fuel, the world’s greatest Air Force doesn’t get aircraft in the air. When the trucks that deliver that fuel start to leak, a multi-team effort is needed to get them fixed and back to delivering fuel to the fight.

  • OTS revamps program creating more efficient, effective training environment

    Over the past year, Air University’s Officer Training School has been revamping its program in order to provide a more efficient and effective training experience for its cadets. One of the major changes the school has made has been the implementation of pre-requisite courses designed to cover

  • AFPC launches database for special trophies, awards information

    As the Air Force continues to streamline guidance and target improvements that impact Total Force Airmen in the squadrons, the Air Force’s Personnel Center has implemented an initiative placing all special trophies and award descriptions and eligibility information into a single location for maximum

  • Whole Airman Concept: Leadership development

    Airmen from the 821st Contingency Response Support Squadron are using the Whole Airman Concept to find innovative ways to incorporate leadership development into their everyday squadron routine.

  • I-WEPTAC delivers innovations to Air Force leaders

    Innovation was alive here this week, as senior leaders heard proposals May 16, 2018, to address some of the greatest challenges facing the agile combat support community at the conclusion of the 2nd Annual Installation and Mission Support Weapons and Tactics Conference, hosted by the Air Force

  • Kessel Run hits hyperdrive

    Thirty active duty Airmen, Air Force civilians and contractors gathered in a shared workspace downtown May 7, 2018, for the opening of the Kessel Run Experimentation Lab, where they will build the next generation of combat software.

  • Around the Air Force: May 2

    On this look around the Air Force, some changes are made to Enlisted Professional Military Education, Airmen volunteer to clean up areas outside of Latvian children’s centers, and a new acquisition program has the potential to save the Air Force two billion dollars.

  • Space and STEM showcased at JB Charleston Air and Space Expo

    In conjunction with several partners, Joint Base Charleston showcased both STEM and space through various booths and interactive exhibits at the 2018 Air and Space Expo. Some of the booths included robotics demonstrations, electricity exhibits, moon rock samples and more.