The NEPA Alliance PTAC would like to advise our readers the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) has launched a new innovation hub.
AFGSC is tasked with operating the Air Force's bomber fleet, intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear command, control, and communications systems.
The hub is set up as a new facility called STRIKEWERX to connect with academia, small businesses and even "garage inventors". The facility enables anyone, including small businesses, to work with the AFGSC.
The focus of STRIKEWERX is on expanding the AFGSC's innovation base, but STRIKEWERX is also open to traditional defense contractors and large businesses.
The facility is located outside of Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, where the AFGSC is headquartered. The hub was strategically placed off-base to avoid difficulties for those looking to meet with the AFGSC personnel.
"We are a very small command with a huge mission set, and we know we have to think about things differently. We have to move faster," said General Tim Ray AFGSC commander.
The effort is modeled after AFWERX, an Air Force initiative that was set up in 2017 to boost the service's engagement with industry, academia and nontraditional partners while developing much-needed capabilities. AFWERX now has locations in Austin, Texas, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.
AFGSC hopes its new hub will aid in facilitating a cooperative "ecosystem" where its needs can be addressed. Since opening, STRIKEWERK has hosted multiple "open houses".
Moving forward, STRIKEWERK will be home to events, workshops, meetings, and industry challenges to find technology to fill the AFGSC's operational gaps. One area STRIKEWERX is already working to address is electromagnetic pulse hardening. An electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, is an intense burst of energy that can be released by a nuclear weapon detonated high in the atmosphere or by a geomagnetic disturbance caused by natural phenomena such as solar flares.
In the future, the hub will have a topics list to compare proposals presented by companies and members of industry to the AFGSC's needs.
"We want to transmit to the outside world where we need help and create a forum where we can have smart people come in and help us solve problems quickly," Ray said. "We believe this is a great way to bring in better and faster funding."
The STRIKEWERK facility will also be a place for airmen's "ideas to become reality," according to the command. It will give service members access to experts, acquisition coaching, and engineering and technical support.
More information about STRIKEWERK can be found HERE.
You can also reach a PTAC counselor by calling: 866-758-1929 and selecting option 2 to talk more about STRIKEFORCE and working in the government contracting space.
finances 40% of the project cost, up to $5.5 million, and takes a second lien position. The borrower then contributes a down payment of as little as 10%.
