The Air Mobility Warfare Center’s Air Mobility Battlelab at Ft. Dix, N.J., is now using the Halverson Air Stairs Kit, or HASK, instead of the loader’s traditional walk deck to easily load passengers and cargo. This passenger-stairs attachment kit deploys with first responders to support global contingencies where they will be handling both cargo and people. In stairs mode, the steps stay level regardless of height adjustment. In cargo mode, the steps close and are used as a walk deck. Retired Gen. Ronald Fogleman, former Air Force Chief of Staff, came up with the idea as a solution to the lack of passenger stairs at forward bases.
The Air Force is shoring up its cyber defenses both on and off base for critical infrastructure such as water and electrical power, and industry experts are calling for more, even specialized, dedicated microgrids offsite to support USAF operations in case of a total blackout caused by cyberattacks.
