The AFWERX refinery program is designed to meet CSAF action orders and SECAF operational imperatives

The Refinery program, an initiative of Spark’s AFWERX division, appeals to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, or CSAF, and the Operational Imperatives, or OI, of the Secretary of the Air Force, or SECAF, as it works to rapidly advance Airman and Guard projects. The primary goal of this four-week hybrid innovation accelerator program is to target grassroots efforts and further develop tactical prototype projects that directly assist the warfighter and ultimately transfer needed operational capabilities to larger forces.

“We are taking a targeted approach to AFWERX 3.0 to highlight opportunities for innovation that are most relevant to OI and action orders,” said Col. Elliot Leigh, director of AFWERX.

The Action Orders represent the CSAF’s call to accelerate change and were updated in February 2022 to detail what the force must do in four key areas – Action Order A: Airmen; Order of action B: Bureaucracy; Action Order C: Competition; and Action Order D: Project Implementation – to ensure that the US remains the most dominant and respected Air Force in the world.

The refinery helps airmen make a significant impact on the force and enhance the nation’s competitive advantage by addressing the A order.

Maj. Lauren Fair of Morpheus, the innovation group under Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Alvin, was assigned to the refinery program to focus on maturity and sustainable integration. Regarding Order B, Bureaucracy, Fair said the refinery structure helps bridge gaps where bureaucratic roadblocks once existed, encouraging offices to seriously consider or even fully adopt the ideas and solutions these airmen and guardians have developed, thereby changing current culture and practices. , which prevent timely and effective decisions.

The refinery is clearly on the order of business with respect to the competition, as each project can save thousands of man-hours, allowing airmen and custodians to focus on higher-order tasks. This can be achieved by accelerating the maintenance of jet aircraft through improved maintenance techniques or by integrating a communications system where communications are limited. Each diverse project that passes through the Refinery Accelerator Program has the potential to increase the U.S.’s competitive advantage

Finally, the Refinery executes Action Order D, Project Implementation, by helping HQ communicate with mission teams. For example, Brett Schaeffer’s recent software called LINKS (Learning Integration Network Knowledge System) has completed a refinery process with 16,000 hours of use and experience, making it a strong candidate for integration into larger forces.

In addition to CSAF action orders, Frank Kendall’s SECAF OIs are critical operational capabilities and functions that the Department of the Air Force must invest in to protect the U.S. ability to contain conflicts and project power against velocity challenges. The AFWERX Refinery program process and resulting capabilities were designed to directly and indirectly support each of these OIs. Notably, Fair noted that the Refinery team is focused on targeting OI 5 and 7, working with Airmen and Guardians to ensure they are resourced and ready for a flexible and modern environment.

“This is the next iteration of taking ideas from both our Airmen and our maintainers, and in the near future, our top performers in the SBIR portfolio,” said Col. Martin Salinas, AFWERX Spark Chief. “We are intentionally overseeing the innovation management team to ensure we support innovation and identify and remove barriers to transition to help smooth adoption.”

Stay tuned for the third part of this series highlighting several successful refinery projects. To learn more and submit refinery project ideas, visit here.

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The European Commission will present a space defense plan in March

Paris (AFP), January 24, 2023

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