Jan. 27, 2017
Public Affairs, Volume 64, Number 4
Benefield Anechoic Facility hosts B-52 for HERO testing
By Kenji Thuloweit 412th Test Wing Public Affairs
A B-52 Stratofortress from the 96th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, is undergoing Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance testing in the Benefield Anechoic Facility. The test was requested by the B-52 Program Office at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, to comply with a recent mandate from the Air Force Safety Office according to members of the 772nd Test Squadron who oversee BAF operations. The mandate states all Air Force weapons platforms will conduct Electromagnetic Environmental Effects evaluations. This test with the B-52 concentrated on the HERO element. Ordnance and other devices that contain electro–explosive devices must function in their operational electromagnetic environment without inadvertently activating. To prevent the susceptibility of ordnance to radiated or conducted electromagnetic energy, HERO limits are imposed. HERO tests are conducted to classify the ordnance’s susceptibility
A B-52 from the 96th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, is backed into the Benefield Anechoic Facility Jan. 9. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ethan Wagner)
to electromagnetic radiation as HERO Safe, HERO Susceptible, or HERO Unsafe. “The advantage of using the BAF chamber allows for more sensitive measurements with low background noise levels, as compared to testing on the flightline where there are numerous interfering radio frequency sources,” said Hannah Dahlgren, 772nd TS project
lead engineer. “Since no signals escape the chamber, the customer does not have to deal with regulatory clearances to radiate from the aircraft, which typically results in transmitting late at night only to avoid interfering with flightline and commercial operations.” The BAF at Edwards is the largest anechoic chamber in the world and can See BAF, page 2
Project shows collaboration key to innovation success By Christopher Ball 412th Test Wing Public Affairs
Innovation means using a new idea, method, or device. So to step away from the status quo, someone pursuing innovation may have to look for answers beyond the usual, and one method encouraged by Edwards AFB innovators is collaboration. Edwards’ Experimentation Center for Ideas/Technology Exploration team – XCITE team for short – actively engages in collaboration by reaching out to other units, other military branches, and with civilian organizations pursuing similar goals to foster innovation. In 2016, XCITE took several trips to learn more about cultivating innovation. One such visit was to attend the Ignite Summit, hosted by Spigit, where the brightest minds in innovation gathered to share stories, connect and learn, according to the XCITE newsletter. Spigit is the largest provider of innovation management software for Fortune 500 companies. A visit to Lockheed Martin Skunkworks to meet with their team and to hear firsthand accounts of their innovation culture was also beneficial, according to XCITE members. The team also spent a day in a conference room at Walt Dis-
ney Imagineering’s research and development facility in Glendale, California, with a team of Disney Imagineers who shared their views and methods for fostering innovation. But while innovation field trips may be beneficial to learning, collaboration on projects is beneficial to progress, XCITE team members say. One example of this is a project presented to the team toward the end of 2016. Dubbed HELIOS, for Holistic Empirical Lucent Innovative Optical System, the project combines objective optical system measurements using advanced innovative software tools written by the 775th Test Squadron’s Electro-Optics Engineering Team with a new state-of-the-art Precision Impact Range Area target system, currently early in the acquisition stages, along with state-of-the-art models for human interpretation of imagery built by the Army Night Vision Electronics and Sensors Directorate (NVESD), along with other technologies, according to program manager Ron Hardgrove. “The Electro-Optics Engineering Team partnered with the 412th Range Squadron and, with support from the XCITE innovation team under the 412th Test Wing, is driving flight test See Innovation, page 4