Praeses, STRIKEWERX partner to modernize combat prep for bombers
By Sean Green | STRIKEWERX Marketing and Communication Director
BOSSIER CITY, La. — A Shreveport, Louisiana, company will work with STRIKEWERX, the innovation partner for Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), to modernize and digitize data used in prepping bombers for combat.
STRIKEWERX, via a partnership intermediary agreement with AFGSC, has contracted with Praeses to develop software to modernize and standardize the process of bomber generations. This new solution will modernize and digitize data for a faster, more efficient process of how bombers are prepared to take off for combat.
“Praeses is excited about solving the bomber generation tracking problem. Our solution will automate inputs for age-old security, operations, maintenance, and munitions command and control processes previously collected manually by AFGSC Airmen,” said J.D. Hunsicker, Praeses vice president for government programs.
Bomber generations have been conducted for decades using rudimentary tracking processes including multiple phone and radio calls. Data from this process distributed over multiple locations resulting in difficulty recreating timelines and events.
The new solution will include generation, transfer, reporting, visualizations, and analysis. Specifically, the software will have the capability to:
Convert manual spreadsheets
Create checklist task forms
Visualize weapon storage and flightline with readiness status
Show mission capability status
Archive historical data in a centralized location for identifying trends
“Bomber generations are one of the most complex and most important things the command does,” said Michael Black, AFGSC project champion “Bombers are a strategic level force projection asset. For bombers to compete that task, weapons must be loaded onto aircraft expeditiously using established steps and procedures that are tracked and reported to Headquarters Air Force.”
Black is hopeful that the new solution will automate and simplify this cumbersome and inefficient process.
“This new solution will modernize and standardize the data collection and presentation involved in bomber sortie combat generation by taking data from source systems in near real-time to streamline communications and workflow,” he said.
The project will begin with notional data, building out with more inputs in an iterative process to improve and refine the software.