Members of the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron in Southwest Asia have reduced by half the time required to swap an engine on E-3 AWACS surveillance aircraft. While it normally takes about 18 hours to remove and replace an E-3 engine, members of the unit have become so adept at the process that they can execute the exchange in less than nine hours. “I have been doing the flight-line-maintenance thing for over 20 years and I can honestly say this has been the best group of maintainers I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with,” said MSgt. Chuck Ratajczyk, 380th EAMXS lead production superintendent, who calls Tinker AFB, Okla., home. (380th AEW report by TSgt. Denise Johnson)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week released strategies meant to focus the Pentagon’s “alphabet soup” of innovation organizations and proliferate artificial intelligence—moves that experts say could provide the structure needed to make the military’s efforts to integrate and field new technology more effective.
