Eric Nelson, of the company Neltec, works with B-52 maintainers from Air Force Global Strike Command during a STRIKEWERX Design Sprint at the Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier City, Louisiana, to help weatherproof the B-52 external power cart. (Sean Green/STRIKEWERX)
By Sean Green | STRIKEWERX Communications Manager
BOSSIER CITY, La. – STRIKEWERX, Air Force Global Strike Command’s innovation hub at the Cyber Innovation Center (CIC), hosted a Design Sprint June 3-5 to support protection of a cart used to power the B-52.
The Design Sprint sought to protect the B-52 external power cart’s electrical components from weather to improve the cart’s longevity and overall mission readiness.
A common challenge Airmen face is carts becoming inoperable when some of its components are subjected to water exposure. This can lead to wasted manhours spent preparing the cart for use and then waiting for a functioning cart to be re-delivered.
Over the course of three days in the CIC’s innovation hub in Bossier City, Louisiana, a team of Air Force subject matter experts worked with Eric Nelson, from the manufacturing company Neltec, to develop a solution of two covers that will protect the cart’s electrical components.
The group devised a single-piece plastic cover with shielded airflow vents as one prototype. The second prototype is a waterproof shield with a front window for shielding and a back draping flap for venting.
“If the generator is not capable of producing power for the aircraft, it means ground crews can’t perform maintenance, or even launch the aircraft, which lost time and readiness,” said Staff Sgt. Ryan Best, subject matter expert for the design sprint. “I never expected this project to get seen, let alone to be able to spend several days developing something that will be a fieldable solution. I appreciate my leadership for prioritizing this and STRIKEWERX for using the design sprint to help us.”
The design sprint process brings together a team of business, industry, and government to spend five days defining the challenge, understanding needs, creating a prototype solution, and then testing that prototype.
“One of STRIKEWERX’s strengths is fostering collaboration between Airmen who know the unique challenges facing the command and industry experts who know what is available to address those challenges,” said Kevin Nolten, CIC president. “The STRIKEWERX sprint process will mean improved readiness, saved manhours, and reduced costs of damaged equipment.”
The CIC, via its partnership with AFGSC, will now produce a full-scale prototype for further testing and evaluation. Pending results, the prototype could be refined and delivered to AFGSC for implementation.
This marks the eighth design sprint undertaken by STRIKEWERX since late 2020. Of those, four sprint prototypes have been delivered to AFGSC for evaluation and scaling with another under development for testing.
STRIKEWERX will continue to host design sprints to tackle various challenges from around the command. For more info on the design sprint process, watch this video or email info@strikewerx.com.
About the Cyber Innovation Center
Cyber Innovation Center (CIC), located in Bossier City, Louisiana, is the anchor of the 3,000 acre National Cyber Research Park and serves as the catalyst for the development and expansion of a knowledge-based workforce throughout the region. As a 501c3 not-for-profit corporation, CIC fosters collaboration among its partners and accelerates technology, research, and development. One of its primary missions is to develop a sustainable knowledge-based workforce that can support the growing needs of government, industry, and academic partners.