The Air Force launched a new program last week aimed at “harnessing” airmen’s creativity. The program, dubbed “Airmen Powered by Innovation,” will replace three existing similar programs. They include, the Innovation Development through Employee Awareness, Productivity Enhancing Capital Investment, and Best Practices programs. “API will consolidate the benefits of each program and simplify the process for submitting ideas, making it easier for our airmen at the lowest levels to effect change across the entire Air Force,” said David Tillotson, the Air Force deputy chief management officer, in an April 4 release. USAF Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry Spencer said the top-down tracking requirement of the new program will help reward innovation at all levels. “In this fiscally-constrained environment, we need every airman engaged in finding smarter ways to do business,” he said in the release. Airmen can submit ideas online or work with their local AFSO21 office, states the release.
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…