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      A gaggle of civilians and military members are silhouetted against the bright sunlight outside of the C-5M Super Galaxy in which they currently standDoD, industry collaboration part of Spark Collider 2.0
                        
                        
                        A group of Airmen and representatives from numerous technology companies tour the cargo bay of a C-5M Super Galaxy at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., Sept. 27, 2019. The tour was a part of “Spark Collider,” a single-day event in which members of the installation’s Phoenix Spark innovation lab could talk with and possibly collaborate with tech companies about problems facing the Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christian Conrad)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        A blonde military man in a flightsuit speaks with men in suits inside of the cargo bay of a C-5M Super Galaxy. He is smilingDoD, industry collaboration part of Spark Collider 2.0
                        
                        
                        Senior Airman Timothy Billings, 22nd Airlift Squadron C-5 loadmaster, speaks with representatives from the technology industry during a tour at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., Sept. 27, 2019. The tour was a part of “Spark Collider,” a single-day event in which members of the installation’s Phoenix Spark innovation lab could talk with and possibly collaborate with tech companies about problems facing the Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christian Conrad)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

DoD, industry collaboration part of Spark Collider 2.0Published Oct. 3, 2019
                    
                    By Senior Airman Christian Conrad
                    
                    
                    60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
            **TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) --**Travis Air Force Base once again marked a step forward in recent forays into the private sector with the goal of stoking collaboration between its Airmen and leaders in the technology industry Sept. 27.
The event, dubbed Spark Collider 2.0, invited representatives from Silicon Valley-based tech firms onto Travis AFB with the interest of gleaning firsthand accounts of specific problems facing the base and finding ways in which their companies’ resources could help to solve the problems.
Travis AFB’s Spark Hub, called Phoenix Spark, is a program modeled to bridge the challenges of rapid innovation at the unit-level while navigating the administrative hurdles of compliance that often impede the velocity of change.
That proverbial red tape can sometimes be more challenging than the innovation itself, said Col. David Hammerschmidt, 60th Maintenance Group commander.
“If you look up bureaucracy in the dictionary, it says ‘see U.S. government,’” Hammerschmidt laughed. “We’re trying hard to plow through some of that so that we can not only acquire the technologies that are available today, but also battle against some of the obsolescence issues we deal with in working on 30-year-old aircraft.”
Among those aircraft representatives were given tours of: the C-5M Super Galaxy and the KC-10 Extender.
The areas of research covered by the companies included robotics, artificial intelligence, 3-D printing technology, virtual reality, software development, business and mechanical engineering—all fields that could be utilized in bringing about a top-to-bottom improvement of the Air Force, said Col. Zach Jiron, 60th Air Mobility Wing vice commander.
“Every job in the Air Force has its own unique set of challenges. Even if we only identify a single process, in a single job, that could be streamlined or evolved to execute more effectively, then it’s an improvement that’s well worth the investment,” Jiron said.
Topics and ideas presented to the group over the course of the day ranged in complexity, which aligns with the intent of Phoenix Spark. Innovation is not confined to large-scale projects and advanced technology; instead, many encompass modest solutions to overcome day-to-day challenges.
It’s because of the installation’s geographic proximity to Silicon Valley that events like Spark Collider are easier to coordinate and, thus, easier to reap benefits from, Hammerschmidt said.
“Travis sits on a wealth of intellectual capital,” he said. “From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, we’re sitting in the middle of a tech hub. We want to work to leverage that capital. We want to foster these partnerships to help us do more with less so that Travis can stay the world’s finest mobility force and so we can have the tools and capabilities to deliver on the promise we make to our country every day by putting on the uniform.”FS 



USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



DOD 



Defense Department 



industry 



collaboration 



Spark Collider 



Travis AFB 



technology 



Silicon Valley 



innovation 



Spark Hub 



Phoenix Spark 



faster 



smarter 



C-5M 



Super Galaxy 



KC-10 



Extender 



3D printing 



Virtual Reality 



software development 



business 



mechanical engineering 



research 



robotics 



artificial intelligence 



AMC 



Air Mobility Command Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                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 fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                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 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM 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