Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      AFMC commander speaks at AFABreaking the Logistics Barrier
                        
                        
                        Gen. Ellen M. Pawlikowski, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, speaks during the Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., Sept. 18, 2017. The general's keynote speech was entitled Breaking the Logistics Barrier. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Chad Trujillo)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        AFMC commander speaks at AFABreaking the Logistics Barrier
                        
                        
                        Gen. Ellen M. Pawlikowski, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, speaks during the Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., Sept. 18, 2017. The general's keynote speech was entitled Breaking the Logistics Barrier. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Chad Trujillo)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

AFMC commander: Agility, innovation to fuel future of AF logisticsPublished Sept. 18, 2017
                    
                    By Monica D. Morales
                    
                    
                    Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs
            **NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (AFNS) --**The future of Air Force logistics will find Airmen tapping into a secure digital network of archived additive manufacturing specifications, allowing for the 3D-printed creation of a weapons system component whenever and wherever needed.
This agile manufacturing approach is just one way Air Force Materiel Command is working to advance Air Force logistics, said Gen. Ellen M. Pawlikowski, AFMC commander, at the 2017 Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference, Sept. 18, 2017.
“Imagine having a global manufacturing network for an aircraft like the F-35,” the general said. “Instead of storing parts, predicting what parts will fail and stockpiling them, if I have digital data for the key components and additive manufacturing capabilities in key locations...I can make the part and reduce the timelines and costs associated with its delivery.”
Pawlikowski said additive manufacturing has already borne “tremendous success.” She cited the example of a C-5’s load-bearing handle, a part that isn’t readily available, which normally costs $1,600 – once it can be acquired. In comparison, the Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center designed the part for 3D printing, and produced it for about $300 in less than three weeks. The Innovation Center is a partnership between AFMC's Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and the University of Dayton Research Institute.
The command, through its Air Force Sustainment Center, will also establish Innovation Centers near each of its three air logistics complexes located at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Robins AFB, Georgia and Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. These centers will invite industry, academia and defense partners to collaborate with ALC personnel to develop new technology insertion techniques.
“We are looking at the application of robotics in order to perform functions on fifth-generation aircraft that we cannot easily perform through manual labor today,” Pawlikowski said. “And we’re looking at new techniques to apply lasers to handle certain materials.”
AFMC is also aggressively examining agile software development within ALCs and alongside industry partners. Agile software development seeks to quickly field and update software in a cyber-secure way. Pawlikowski said adopting this approach may eventually translate into the establishment of software squadrons or flights within the Air Force’s maintenance squadrons.
“We have to re-examine how we approach the sustainment of our weapons systems and how we support them in the context of a network of apps and apertures,” the general said. “That means the software can’t be developed off in a corner. It must be involved in the actual operation of the weapons system.”
To be an agile, responsive workforce at a speed threatening to adversaries, Pawlikowski said AFMC is also working on a logistics command and control initiative. This worldwide network would enable the visibility of the supply chain in a decentralized way, allowing for logistics support ahead of operators’ needs.
“You can very much see that the types of things that need to be done to support our fifth-generation aircraft require our Airmen out on the flight line to have the depth of understanding associated with maintaining the software and all the specifics that will keep them flying,” she said. “It will be critical to have a command and control system that points to the right place, the right part and the right expertise to move it as quickly as we can.”logistics 



AFMC 



AFA 



air 



space 



cyber 



3D printing 



fifth generation fighter 



innovation 



development 



Hill AFB 



Tinker AFB 



Robbins AFB Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil