Over the past two months, the Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO)’s Advanced Manufacturing Program Office (AMPO) has held roadshow events at Directorates within the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) to highlight AM production and prototyping capabilities throughout the Air Force’s organic industrial base. The AMPO has completed two events with the goal of reaching every platform by July 2024.
These roadshows are unique in that they gather top innovators and manufacturing experts from across the Air Force to present technical capabilities and outline resources that can meet program office requirements. These events also showcase the collaborations between the RSO, Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC), and the AFLCMC Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Special Operations Forces Directorate’s Rapid Development and Integration Facility (RDIF) to solve increasingly more complex sustainment issues.
“Setting up an entirely new manufacturing process doesn’t happen in one office alone. It requires collaboration and support across multiple locations that have the capacity to engineer and implement production capability in support of various platforms,” said Capt Jason Quadros, AMPO Deputy Chief.
The AFLCMC Bombers Directorate Roadshow at Tinker Air Force Base (AFB), held October 11, brought together 170 personnel, including presenters from the RSO, AFSC, Tinker AFB’s REACT and PROACT Labs, Robins AFB’s REARM Lab, Hill AFB’s RAPID Lab, and the RDIF. Positive feedback from attendees indicated the event helped to clarify how these innovation cells are aligned and how program offices can utilize them to move faster with AM and repair capabilities on their platforms.
The AMPO hosted its inaugural roadshow at the AFLCMC Mobility Directorate in October 2023 as well. Overall, the two events have reached over 250 key personnel from multiple program offices responsible for executing lifecycle program management for over 18 aircraft, including the C-5, C-17, C-130J, B-52, B-2, and B-1.
“The goal of these events is to provide specific information about programs using advanced manufacturing resources, including our part requests, printer and technician certifications, technical orders, AM design guides, policy, and how we share data and initiate projects,” said Dr. Howard Sizek, RSO AMPO Chief Engineer.
Roadshows will be held with the Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorate, Agile Combat Support Directorate, and additional AFLCMC Directorates in the upcoming months. If your Directorate or organization would like to host a roadshow or learn more about the RSO AMPO, please send an email to aflcmc.ro.am@us.af.mil.