The 86th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Ramstein AB, Germany, is now using robotic vehicles to help move supplies. Airmen in the squadron’s warehouse now work beside five laser-guided, automated vehicles that have replaced the warehouse’s old conveyor belt system. The belt system was much louder and more expensive to maintain than the new equipment is expected to be. The robotic vehicles add efficiency to warehouse operations, US Air Forces in Europe officials say. They patrol up and down the warehouse, stop at designated points, pick up parcels, move them to designated locations, drop them off, and then move on. “Now technicians who had to move items from a drop location to the conveyors or drive forklifts can be freed up to pull parts or process shipping documents,” said Eduard Junko, 86th LRS chief of operations. (Ramstein report by TSgt. Michael Voss)
Gas is king in the vast expanse of the Pacific. And as the Pentagon has sought to build up its capability to deter China, the Department of Defense has undergone a major rethink about how to get fuel to the region. At the heart of the effort is the U.S. Transportation…