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Sikorsky Celebrates 100th Anniversary by Highlighting its Enduring Support of Missions in Europe at Paris Air Show

Monday, June 19th, 2023

In 1967, two Sikorsky HH-3E search and rescue helicopters made the first non-stop helicopter flight across the Atlantic Ocean from New York, over London and finally to Le Bourget during the 27th Paris Air Show. Sikorsky founder Igor Sikorsky (right) and his son, Sergei Sikorsky welcomed the U.S. Air Force crew. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Images courtesy of the Sikorsky Archives.

PARIS, June 19, 2023 — Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT), will celebrate its 100th anniversary during the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget this week emphasizing the deep and enduring relationship and the ongoing mission readiness and operational success shared by Sikorsky, its workforce in Poland and its commercial and defence customers across Europe. View the centennial video.

Sikorsky’s history crosses paths with Paris Air Show: Fifty-six years ago, two Sikorsky HH-3E search and rescue helicopters — the first air-refuellable helicopters built — made the first non-stop helicopter flight across the Atlantic Ocean from New York, over London and finally to Le Bourget during the 27th Paris Air Show.

“Today Sikorsky helicopters around the world regularly make long-range flights in some of the toughest conditions,” said Paul Lemmo, Sikorsky President. “Those HH-3E flights in 1967 — with refueling supported by a Lockheed HC-130P Hercules tanker — were a testament to the ingenuity and innovation that began 100 years ago with our founder Igor Sikorsky. Innovation is central to our 21st Century Security mission of supporting our customers with systems to address their most difficult challenges.”

“I was there with my father to welcome the crew of the U.S. Air Force’s HH-3E, the original ‘Jolly Green Giant,’ when it arrived at Le Bourget,” said Sergei Sikorsky, one of Igor’s sons who lived in Germany supporting the country’s CH-53G heavy-lift helicopter program starting in 1972. “On the flightline at Le Bourget, we watched the first HH-3E perform a flawless refueling demo with a HC-130P Hercules tanker and then land 30 hours and 46 minutes after it left New York.”

The aircraft traveled 4,270 miles at about 131 mph before landing at 1:53 p.m. local time on June 1, 1967, at Le Bourget. The second HH-3E, which took a slightly altered path so it could clock the New York to London record, landed about 12 minutes later.

The Expanding Black Hawk Legacy

Sikorsky aircraft have supported missions in Europe for decades. For example, the German Armed Forces have operated CH-53G heavy lift helicopters in Germany and during missions all over the world for more than 50 years. Sikorsky’s proven reputation as the world-leader in reliability, safety and mission effectiveness carries on today in Europe with the growing fleet of Black Hawk and MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, as well as with the future opportunities with X2™ aircraft and the CH-53K® heavy-lift helicopter.

The Hawk continues to welcome new customers in Europe. Twenty years ago, Austria became the first European country to operate Black Hawk when Sikorsky delivered nine UH-60L to the Bundesheer.

In Poland, Lockheed Martin’s PZL Mielec has been designing, manufacturing and servicing aircraft and helicopters for over 85 years. The company’s 1,500 employees will deliver the 100th S-70 Black Hawk multi-role helicopter from its production facility later this year. This comes after Sikorsky proudly delivered its 5,000th Hawk helicopter in January.

“The multi-mission Black Hawk provides critical capabilities that will strengthen readiness, interoperability and security across Europe for decades to come,” Lemmo said. “We continue to invest in Black Hawk modernization to provide operators with the reliability, versatility and growth they require to deter threats, integrate with the global fleet and support national security.”

Sikorsky S-92 and S-76 helicopters are also used for civil and commercial missions in Europe including VIP and head-of-state transport, oil and gas, and search and rescue. Thirteen S-92 helicopters support head of state missions globally and two S-76s have been providing air transport for the British Royal Family for more than two decades. There are 100 S-92 helicopters operating in the North Sea and supported by Sikorsky forward stocking locations in Norway and Scotland.

For additional information, visit our website: www.lockheedmartin.com/sikorsky.

Posted in Aviation, History, Press Release | Comments Off on Sikorsky Celebrates 100th Anniversary by Highlighting its Enduring Support of Missions in Europe at Paris Air Show

U.S. Navy Selects 28 Top Students for Summer Flight Academy Program

Sunday, June 11th, 2023

While some students will spend this summer doing odd jobs or hanging out with friends, 28 high-performing 11th and 12th graders from throughout the country will complete an intensive eight-week U.S. Navy Summer Flight Academy aviation program. Upon completion of the program, each student will earn a private pilot certification and college credits from Delaware State University (DSU), Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), or D2 Aviation School. During the eight-week Summer Flight Academy, each student will receive classroom aviation academics, and approximately 40 hours of flight training in either a Vulcanair V.10 single-engine aircraft or Piper Warrior (PA-28).

The program was established in 2021 by Commander, Naval Air Forces (CNAF) to increase diversity in the field of aviation. The Navy partners with select universities throughout the country to provide the flight training to the participating students who were selected out of hundreds of applicants for the competitive program. The cost of the program is approximately $26,000/student, but is offered at zero cost to the student, and with no obligations. Most of this year’s CNAF Selects are from demographic groups that are historically underrepresented in the field of aviation, with an equal male/female split. The 2023 class also boasts multiple First-Generation-Americans who are leaders in their JROTC programs, and hope to serve their country by one day flying for the U.S. military. CNAF is proud of the international representation from this year’s cohort, which features Cadets with ties to Japan, Iran, Nigeria, India, Ukraine, and the Philippines.

The Department of the Navy sponsors the Summer Flight Academy program for students participating in Navy and Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. The program is a new STEM initiative that was selected for funding by the Naval STEM Coordination Office – located at the Office of Naval Research – which oversees investments in STEM education, outreach, and workforce initiatives.

“The primary goal of the CNAF Flight Academy is to expose diverse, young talent to Naval Aviation, and inspire them to join the profession,” says LT Olivia Barrau, E-2C Hawkeye Naval Flight Officer, CNAF Operations Officer for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and CNAF Flight Academy Program Manager. “For these motivated students, flying a plane and completing this program can empower them to consider Naval Aviation as a viable career choice. While we hope all our Cadets join Naval Aviation, we proudly contribute to their dreams of becoming aviators in any capacity.”

CNAF Flight Academy graduates from 2021 and 2022 now represent the program at all three Service Academies (USNA, USAFA, and USMA), and ROTC units and universities across the country at places like Morehouse College, Tuskegee University, Embry Riddle Aeronautical Institution, Virginia Technical Institute, Delaware State University, Ohio State University, Arizona State University, and Hampton University. Roughly 70 percent of the program’s alumni are now directly affiliated with the U. S. Military, mostly through commissioning programs.

2023 CNAF Summer Flight Academy Cadets

Delaware State University

Aliya J. Applin – Peachtree City, GA

Abdulmalik O. Aremu – Silver Spring, MD

Kianet Badal – Woodland Hills, CA

Hannah M. Bartlett – Allen, TX

Leland W. Boxer – Manassas, VA

Eli Boyd – Lorton, VA

Jackson D. Coberley – Okinawa, Japan

Jonathan R. Gerges – Mt. Juliet, TN

Sophia J. Ivchenko – Cypress, TX

Reva D. Jogdand – Richmond, TX

Caleb T. Payne – Portsmouth, VA

Nickole S. Rios – Allen, TX

Orianna M. Russell – San Diego, CA

Jeffrey T. Strader – Greensboro, NC

Jake M. Tirado – Madisonville, LA

Ryan K. Tran – Avondale, AZ

Tahirah L. Tyler – Hampton, VA

Skye A. Uyeda – Poway, CA

Cecilia R. Winters – Waco, TX

John D. Zeveney – Red Bank, NJ

Elizabeth City State University

John Lawrence R. Austria – Dededo, GU

Keisha C. Carlos – Dededo, GU

Isabella M. Hauri – Peoria, IL

Ryan J. Inge – Yorktown, VA

D2 Flight School

Taylor R. Carroll – Allen, TX

Alexandra S. Tibbets – Dayton, TX

Alfred J. Armstrong – Anderson, SC

John L. McGee – Dover, NH

Posted in Aviation, Guest Post, Navy, Training | 2 Comments »

509th Weapons Squadron Supports SOF exercise, Prepares for WSINT

Sunday, May 28th, 2023

Airmen from the 509th Weapons Squadron integrated with the 14th Weapons Squadron providing air refueling for a special operations forces exercise at Hurlburt Field, Florida, May 7-10.

The purpose of the training for the 509th WPS was to expose its students to the Special Operations mission set and to prepare its students for their large-scale Weapons School Integration capstone exercise where all weapons schools come together and perform peer-to-peer combat to perfect their skills.

“The tanker’s mission means that it’s always an asset that is integrated with other operations,” said Lt. Col. Ian Shelley, 509 WPS commander. “This exercise allows our students to integrate with the special operations mission set. They develop tanker tactics to best support air players who are providing air support to ground units. They integrate not only with air players, but with Army and Navy ground units.”

The exercise also provided the 509th WPS Airmen a chance to integrate with other weapons squadrons and their weapons systems to execute the mission. Some units that also participated in the training include the 14th WPS AC-130J Ghostriders, MC-130J Commando IIs, U-28 Dracos, and CV-22 Ospreys.

“SOF operates in a unique manner, one that most of our students haven’t experienced before,” Shelley said. “The integration opportunity provides tanker and SOF units with a broader set of tools preparing them for future combat operations.”

One of the key points of the training included the students having to work together to create an effective mission plan in order to meet the objective of the exercise.

“Not only did the students plan air refueling and fly the KC-135, we also had students who planned and witness tilt rotor air refueling on board an MC-130 and we had others who were heavily integrated in forward arming and refueling point operations whereby the lessons learned can be applied to future agile combat employment operations,” Shelly said.

The 509th WPS is one of 21 weapons squadrons and is the only weapons school for the KC-135 Stratotanker, with a mission of providing the world’s most advanced training and tactics to pilots, navigators and inflight refueling specialists.

“We develop aviators who are steeped not only in peer threats and tanker tactics, but also critical thought and problem solving,” Shelley said. “Their expertise in other platforms and mission sets makes them experts in employment operations.”

Training for the 509th WPS is designed to prepare Airmen to analyze and apply appropriate tactics to possible pacing threats, and ensure they are ready for tomorrow’s fight anytime, anywhere.

Story by SSgt Lawrence Sena, 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, Guest Post, SOF | Comments Off on 509th Weapons Squadron Supports SOF exercise, Prepares for WSINT

New Rotary Wing Advanced Tactical Helmet for Nightstalkers

Tuesday, May 23rd, 2023

The Nightstalkers of the famed 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) have adopted a new lightweight flight helmet called the Rotary Wing Advanced Tactical Helmet or RATH (pronounced Wrath).

Recently on display at the AAAA Summit in Nashville, the new helmet will replace HGU-56/P Rotary Wing Aircrew Ballistic Helmet (ABH) Systems which have been in service for decades. In fact, the 160th was one of the first adopters of the HGU-56/P in the 1990s.

The quest for a lightweight flight helmet which would reduce aircrew neck strain began five years ago and has taken the combined efforts of the US Army Aeromedical Research Lab, Air Force Research Lab, SOFWERX, USSOCOM and the 160th. The effort has culminated with this fielding.

Features:

• Meets / exceeds all US Army FNS / PD 96-18 Safety Requirements & Specifications

• 6 unique helmet shell sizes – does not put extra liner padding in larger sizes to create smaller sizes

• 24% average weight reduction across all sizes when compared to legacy HGU-56P helmet

• 9% increase in side-to-side field of view when compared to legacy HGU-56P helmet

• Optional ballistic applique to provide protection from small arms fire & fragments

• Ventilated carbon fiber shell with “penetration proof” Dyneema™ ballistic liner

• Koroyd™ damage control honeycomb liner with up to 18% more compression than EPS foam

• Lightweight adjustable dial suspension and retention liner assembly

• Hot swap ballistic visor can be changed in less than 30 seconds without tools

• Clear & tinted ballistic Class 1 visor

• Side mounting rails for lights & accessories

• Easy snap / release chinstrap buckle

• Quick-release ANVIS NVG shroud

• Headset can be worn independently from helmet

• Hearing pass-thru with dynamic sound suppression and volume control

• UmeCobra™ boom microphone offers an average of 10 dB improvement of legacy M-87 mic

• Gel earseals and adjustable nape pad for custom sizing and compression adjustment

Posted in Army, Aviation, Helmets, SOF | 7 Comments »

SOF Week 23 – Crye Precision G4 Aviation Uniforms

Monday, May 15th, 2023

Although Crye Precision‘s new G4 Aviation Uniforms were unveiled during SHOT Show, they’ve been working on them for awhile. In fact, they’ve already started delivering them to the SOF aviation unit they developed them for. Like with all things Crye, once other units saw them, they had to have them as well meaning these are becoming quite popular.

Since the uniform is intended to be worn for flight duties, it’s made from the same FR Commando Twill used in the FR G4 uniforms.

While outwardly looking like the G4 uniforms they are based on, you’ll find some aviation unique features like dual entry shoulder pockets, center front zipper and loop placement to accommodate ID. The pants also have a double seat, oversized patch pocket on the calf, zipper pulls, vertical zippered entry on thigh pockets, and a multi-tool pocket.

The G4 Aviation Uniform is offered in both Combat and Field cuts in male and female fits, in MultiCam, Black, and Ranger Green.

Posted in Advertiser, Aviation, Clothing, FR, SOF Week | 3 Comments »

DEVCOM Soldier Center’s Tube Foods Fuel High-Altitude Pilots

Thursday, May 11th, 2023

NATICK, Mass. — Proper nourishment is key to achieving great heights. This is especially true for the elite group of pilots who rely on the expertise of the Combat Feeding Division, part of the Soldier Sustainment Directorate, at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, or DEVCOM SC.

The Combat Feeding Division’s food technologists, equipment specialists, engineers, microbiologists and packaging specialists have been perfecting tube foods for almost 60 years. DEVCOM SC is the only place that designs and produces the foods that meet the specific needs of the Air Force’s U-2 reconnaissance aircraft pilots and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s, or NASA’s, ER-2 research aircraft pilots.

Elite pilots wear pressurized suits and helmets to perform their missions. The foods, which have a pudding-like consistency, come out of a container about the size of a large tube of toothpaste.

The tube foods are attached to feeding probes that are inserted into an opening in the helmets.

The tube foods help pilots power through missions that can last up to 12 hours. The foods come in 19 different offerings, including entrees, fruits and desserts. Choices range from chicken with tortilla soup, to hash browns with bacon, to key lime pie, to chocolate pudding with caffeine — to name just a few. Given the difficulty and length of pilot missions, caffeine is included in some of the selections. The offerings keep evolving. CFD plans to add pasta with marinara sauce next year as well as a new vegan option.

DEVCOM SC’s longtime and unique innovation and expertise in food science and technology and food packaging play a substantial role in tube food development.

“The Combat Feeding Division has a long history of developing nutritionally optimized, good-tasting ration products to meet warfighters’ unique needs and preferences,” said Erin Stomberg, PhD, RD, division chief of Combat Feeding. “The tube foods produced by the division food technologists are one important example of this. Air Force pilots on long flight missions need nutrition for sustainment and performance of their mission, and we are honored to provide this service to them. We accomplish this by using our knowledge of food product development and food processing technologies available in our pilot plant and listening to customer feedback in order to formulate custom varieties based on pilot preferences.”

Daniel Nattress, a food technologist who has served as the project officer for the Tube Food Program for 24 years, pointed out that “decades of knowledge and expertise go into every tube.”

“We have the expertise to make healthy, wholesome foods that taste good, meet nutritional requirements and meet required shelf-life requirements (three years at 80 degress Fahrenheit and six months at 100 degrees Fahrenheit),” said Nattress. “We also need to know how to manufacture foods which meet the nutritional requirements and still fit through the narrow straw-like probe.”

Nattress explained that colleagues in the Tube Food Program also have the “knowledge and expertise to operate the specialized equipment, as well as pack the tube food for safe storage and transportation.”

Equipment upgrades have improved the process. A new state-of-the art tube filler and sealer is easier to clean and maintain than the previous version and a new steam retort, which preserves the tube foods, is more efficient and extremely reliable.

Direct interaction with pilots is key to making the best product. Nattress and his colleagues have visited the home base of the U-2 pilots several times, and the pilots have visited Combat Feeding as well.

“Face-to-face contact is essential to understand what products the pilots want and for them to understand our capabilities,” said Nattress. “We conduct surveys with the pilots every three or four years to verify what they currently like, what they’d like to have and any changes they’d like to have. When we were at Beale Air Force Base, the training base, we got to try on the U-2 suits. This gave us an understanding of what they go through on their missions.”

DEVCOM SC’s efforts to understand pilot needs and to provide them with a quality product are reflected in comments from the U-2 pilots themselves:

“Caff apple pie (Caffeinated Apple Pie) is a must after 8 to 10 hours and preparing to recover the hardest jet in the world to land!”

“Nothing better than hash browns and bacon (Hash Browns with Bacon) after you kick on the autopilot during climbout to an early morning sortie.”

“Not only does it give us some energy, but it’s something we look forward to — especially truffle mac (Truffle Macaroni and Cheese). Delish.”

Comprehensive review sessions also provide Combat Feeding with additional insights.

“We also participate in the twice-yearly U-2 Program Management Reviews, a meeting of all government agencies and contractors,” said Nattress. “These meetings give us an overview of the entire U-2 program from Tube Foods to U-2 suits to the airframe. This gives us the overall picture and shows us where we fit in.”

Robert Bernazzani, team leader of the Joint Foodservice and Engineering Team, praised the comradery of the experts who produce the food tubes, their eclectic set of skills, and their creation of a quality finished product.

“It is very gratifying to be part of such an important and vital program for the military,” said Bernazzani. “Most of the work that is done in Combat Feeding is research and development. This program is unique because we actually not only do the R&D but produce the tubes that are consumed by the warfighter.”

“Everyone who works on the Tube Food Program, that includes several others from packaging specialists to microbiologists, are very proud to provide U-2 pilots the sustenance they need to perform these vital reconnaissance missions,” said Nattress. “When we have had the opportunity to visit Beale, or to host pilots, they are very appreciative of the products we are able to manufacture.”

By Jane Benson, DEVCOM Soldier Center Public Affairs

Posted in Army, Aviation, Field Gourmet, Guest Post | 8 Comments »

AF Research Lab Re-Ups Affiliation with Longtime Liquid Crystal Industry Partner AlphaMicron Inc to Meet DoD Needs

Friday, April 28th, 2023

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, OHIO (AFRL) – Longtime Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, industry partner AlphaMicron Inc., is utilizing a 2021 Ohio Federal Research Network, or OFRN, funding award to expand the capability of its patented guest host liquid crystal technology, called e-Tint, to electronically dimmable protective eyewear for the Department of the Air Force, or DAF, Department of Defense and commercial markets.

The $1.35 million award, comprised of $900,000 from the state of Ohio and a $450,000 AlphaMicron, or AMI, cost share, enables AMI to apply emergent fundamental research toward the expansion of its e-Tint technology for the development of advanced sun protection devices for pilots and special warriors, as well as specialized laser protection film for civilian and military eyewear, said Principal Electronics Engineer Dr. Darrel G. Hopper in the Airman Systems Directorate of AFRL’s 711th Human Performance Wing.

In its persistent mission to mature its technology and create advanced applications, AFRL has partnered with AMI — a global leader in liquid crystal-based light reactive technologies — since its founding in December 1996 as a spinoff of Kent State University’s Liquid Crystal Institute, Hopper said.

“Most recently, AMI was a performer under the 2018 Electronically Dimmable Eye Protection Devices Small-Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) program sponsored by the Airman Systems Directorate,” Hopper said. “During the 2020-2022 Phase II award, AMI partnered with Bowling Green University, Kent State University and Miami University to develop next-generation electronically dimmable eye protection devices enabling them to work toward the 70% transmission window needed for current and future DAF applications.”

The image depicts AlphaMicron Inc., or AMI’s prototype progression over the course of 20 years. AMI’s first dimming proof of principle prototype from 1997 was eventually integrated into a Full Complex Curvature Helmet F-35 Visor prototype for the U.S. Department of the Air Force in 2017 to help mitigate pilots’ difficulties managing light transmission during flight. The initial collaboration between AFRL and AMI resulted in the creation of e-Tint, an electronic tint-on-demand liquid crystal technology that can be applied to flexible plastic substrates, such as pilot visors, instead of traditional glass. e-Tint switches from clear to dark faster than an eye can blink — about 0.1 of a second— and is fail-safe in a power outage. This technology was used to create the world’s first electronic switchable eyewear which was field tested by the U.S. Army and is now being issued to soldiers through the Approved Protective Eyewear List.? In addition to current applications, the technology is being developed for augmented reality applications and see-through displays, where simultaneously controlling ambient and display light is important, said AMI’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bahman Taheri.(U.S. Air Force photo)

The AFRL-sponsored 2018 STTR award expedited AMI’s process of qualifying and applying for the OFRN funding, as AMI was able to sustain the same academic partnerships it had developed under the previous effort, Hopper said.

AMI’s OFRN effort was one of five selected in the OFRN round five: Sustaining Ohio’s Aeronautical Readiness and Innovation in the Next Generation, or SOARING, Opportunity Announcement. According to its website, OFRN awards funding for projects that help expand Ohio’s research capabilities and grow its workforce in the areas of defense, aerospace, energy and health.

“AFRL’s history with AlphaMicron is long and rich,” said Personal Protection Direction Lead Dr. Matthew Lange in AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate. “This OFRN funding is so important because it is what gets this kind of technology done. It’s enabling the continuation of solutions that are relevant to DOD needs.”

The storied relationship between AFRL and AMI led to the development of foundational optical technology with numerous commercial and military applications, said Dr. Richard Vaia, chief scientist, AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate.

“This ensures critical suppliers have multiple revenues for pervasive aspects of critical technology for future DAF systems,” Vaia said.

AMI’s collaboration with the DAF dates back to its first Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, award in 1997 under the Variable Transmittance Visor program, Hopper said.

Prototypes produced under this first agreement eventually led to future collaborations with AFRL.

In 1997, AFRL partnered with AMI to address light management issues in fighter pilot helmets; researchers were challenged to develop variable-tint visors that would enable pilots to see clearly in flight, despite fluctuating lighting conditions. When pilots encountered sudden washes of intense sunlight mid-flight, they struggled to read and track the data on their aircraft-mounted and head-mounted displays, Hopper said.

“There was a need for some way of controlling visor tint, as it was affected by the transmission of light when the pilots would go above or below the clouds,” said Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Bahman Taheri, who co-founded AMI with two other colleagues in 1996. “This was a safety hindrance. So AFRL asked us to join them to find a solution [based on the then-new guest host liquid crystal technology].”

AFRL and NASA have been working on solving this problem since the 1970s, Hopper said. It has taken the industry 20 years to realize the need for this type of technology for near eye applications. This need has accelerated with the recent emphasis on augmented reality glasses where displayed image contrast can be washed out because of the background ambient lighting conditions.

The initial collaboration between AFRL and AMI resulted in the creation of e-Tint, an electronic tint-on-demand liquid crystal technology that ultimately helped mitigate the pilots’ difficulties managing light transmission during flight. According to AMI’s website, e-Tint switches from clear to dark faster than an eye can blink — about 0.1 of a second— and is fail-safe in a power outage. Notably, the technology can be applied to flexible plastic substrates, or surfaces, instead of traditional glass, to benefit Airmen and Guardians.

“The Air Force was very specific about what it wanted,” Taheri said. “There were all of these boxes we needed to check. And one of them was they wanted to be able to encapsulate the layer of liquid crystal — which is very thin, 6 microns, so about one-tenth of the diameter of a human hair — between plastic. Glass is brittle and flat, not flexible and curved. If you drop it, it breaks. Flexible plastic substrates do not shatter, and they’re lightweight.”

All of these qualities make plastic desirable to glass when it comes to developing agile solutions for pilot eyewear, Taheri said, but the task of translating the liquid crystal technology to flexible plastic substrates was not without its challenges.

“Precisely because it’s flexible, it can be difficult to apply that thin layer of liquid crystal between two pieces of plastic and maintain uniformity,” Taheri said.

Around 2010, AFRL Chief Technologist Dr. Timothy Bunning led efforts within the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate to bring AMI on board to partner with members of his research team in what was then called the Functional Materials Division. Bunning’s group was working on expanding in-house liquid crystal research and develop resilience technologies relating to laser and flash eye protection. Bunning, who served at the time as division chief and, later, as the directorate’s chief scientist, assembled a research team that included Lange, Dr. Michael McConney and Dr. Timothy White, among others.

Together, the AFRL and AMI researchers sought to translate AMI’s preexisting e-Tint technology on flexible plastic substrates to variable-tint visors for DAF pilots.

“Our efforts with AMI were very fruitful,” Bunning said. “In AFRL, we are list-makers, we are very structured, we are always proactively pushing the bounds of the research. Our collaboration [with AMI] allowed us to combine efforts to reduce the risk of these new technologies, and it also led to some high-end publications in prominent scientific journals.”

White, who has since transitioned out of AFRL to take up a professorship in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado-Boulder, said the vibrant partnership between his research team and AMI successfully resulted in the pursuit of both near- and far-term laser and flash eyewear protection solutions.

“Alpha Micron was and continues to be an incredible partner for the DOD to work with,” White said.

Taheri said his various collaborations with AFRL have opened doors to do more of what he genuinely enjoys.

The graphic illustrates how reorienting liquid crystal (yellow) causes dichroic dye (red) to reorient along with it, which changes the transmission of light. In 1997, the U.S. Department of the Air Force identified a need for controlling visor tint in pilot eyewear. Visor tint was affected by light transmission when pilots would go above or below the clouds, as sudden washes of intense sunlight mid-flight impacted their ability to read and track the data on their aircraft-mounted and head-mounted displays. To address this safety issue, AFRL partnered with Kent State University-based AlphaMicron Inc., or AMI, a global leader in liquid crystal technology, to find a solution based on AMI’s proprietary polarizer-free, guest-host liquid crystal system known as e-Tint. AMI’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bahman Taheri likens this system to a molecular version of a Venetian blind. (Courtesy photo / AlphaMicron Inc.)

“Working with AFRL gave and continues to give me a glimpse into what the future of eyewear is going to be,” Taheri said. “This helped AMI create the e-Tint technology for head-mounted displays, and ambient and intense light management for the warfighter. It is the reason that AMI’s CTRL Eyewear is now the only electronic military grade eyewear in the Army’s Authorized Protective Eyewear List (APEL). It took 25 years for the consumer electronics companies working on advanced electronic AR glasses to realize this need.”

Most recently, AMI has set its sights on expanding its technologies beyond near eye applications to the commercial automotive and architectural sectors. The company plans to leverage its preexisting connections to major automotive Tier 1 companies to apply electronically dimmable technology to replace electrochromic mirrors in electric cars, and to integrate sunroofs with switchable glazing technology. These measures will help maintain more consistent temperature control and extend battery life in electric vehicles.

“With the advent of electric cars, what [the auto industry] is really starting to want is this switchable glazing that can be applied to the glazing in the vehicle to stop the car from heating up when it’s parked,” Taheri said. “Heat can be a big drain on an electric car battery when you are trying to cool it down and having a sunroof that ‘switches’ makes a big difference there.”

Taheri said he credits his company’s collaboration with AFRL for giving AMI a head start in this field.

“Because of our interaction with AFRL, AMI is now the main supplier of the much-needed dimming element to many of these top tier companies,” Taheri said. “In that same tone, I genuinely believe that the work currently being performed for the AFRL [with Dr. Lange and his team] is also decades ahead of its time. I have no doubt that it will be the solution to some of the problems not yet realized in the consumer market.”

The company’s commercial expansion can only mean good things for the future of AFRL, Lange said, as the development of any new industry technology can provide fresh avenues for meeting DOD supply chain needs.

“It’s so important to continue to support our industrial base at all levels in order for them to be successful,” Lange said.

Hopper, Lange and Taheri said they look forward to future AFRL collaborations.

“Some of the coolest projects always come from the Air Force,” Taheri said. “My team always wants to gather in on those because they know there’s going to be a tough problem to solve.”

-Gail Forbes, Air Force Research Laboratory

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, Eyepro, Guest Post | Comments Off on AF Research Lab Re-Ups Affiliation with Longtime Liquid Crystal Industry Partner AlphaMicron Inc to Meet DoD Needs

VBSS via Jet Suit

Tuesday, April 25th, 2023

The Brits are already all in and now the US is gaga over the Gravity Industries Jet Suit.

The Joint Prototyping and Experimentation Maritime (JPEM) Program in collaboration with Gravity Industries (UK) introduced a single person Jet Suit capability for rapid transit from shore-to-sea and from sea-to shore for joint missions such as Maritime Interdiction and Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS).

Posted in Aviation, Disruptive Tech, International | 14 Comments »