Missileers on duty in launch control centers across the Air Force are gaining Internet connectivity, increasing down-time productivity, thanks to Douglas Angell, a technical engineer with the 526th ICBM Systems Group at Minot AFB, N.D. Crewmembers can now “complete their career development courses and other training” during “slack time in the office” rather than waiting to go off duty, Angell explained. He added, “They wanted this system and I was able to design it for them.” Angell’s Launch Control Center NetLink design will cost roughly $250,000, including installation, saving the Air Force more than a million dollars by constructing the network “in house” rather than relying upon a contractor’s design. For his effort, Angell won the maximum $10,000 payout from USAF’s Innovated Development through Employee Awareness, or IDEA, program, that incentivizes cost savings and process improvement. (Minot report by A1C Jessica McConnell)
The F-47 fighter will be run differently than previous fighter programs and share the same mission systems architecture as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin told the Senate Armed Services Committee. That means advances in one will fuel advances in the other.