SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- Airmen from Spangdahlem presented Project Weapon at the Logistics Officer Association Symposium in St. Louis and was one of four teams out of 50 to receive the Aether Sprint 2024 Finalist award.
The 52nd Saberwerx Innovation office and 52nd Maintenance Squadron Armament Flight invented a cost effective and lightweight test cable called Project Weapon that powers diagnostics systems on an F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet’s missile launchers and bomb racks, also known as Alternate Mission Equipment.
“Project Weapon allows deployed armament members to test and troubleshoot AME items without the current use of multiple external components,” said Master Sgt. Randall Stoiner, 480th Fighter Squadron Weapons Maintenance noncommissioned officer in charge.
The current setup consists of nine pieces of equipment assets, weighing three tons and requiring 20 minutes of setup time. With Project Weapon, the future package will consist of three pieces of equipment, weighing one ton and requiring a two-minute setup time. This innovation will save resources and man hours, revolutionizing how armament teams test in the future.
Project Weapon will save the Air Force approximately $10,000 for every temporary duty that the armament teams are sent on and will be scaled and distributed to other F-16 armament communities throughout the Air Force.
“Project Weapon allows armament teams to test anywhere in the world without having to rely on other countries' power,” said Staff Sgt. Ryan Amador, 52nd Fighter Wing Innovation officer. “It’s a game changer.”
The Headquarters Air Force A4 Tesseract Aether Sprint Competition is an annual opportunity for Airmen to work directly with Tesseract and Air Force logistics senior leaders to tackle the Logistics Enterprise’s toughest problems.