8CIOReview | | OCTOBER 2023IN MY OPINIONNEW AGE FOR NEW DEFENSE DOCTRINESBy Scott Barber, Global Military Sales Director, JBT AeroTechHeightened mobility. Enhanced agility. A shorter logistics tail. These are a few of the objectives highlighted by the U.S. DoD and other militaries as they implement a shift in basic defense doctrines. For companies supplying flightline aircraft ground equipment (AGE), like JBT AeroTech, this doctrinal shift presents many challenges and affords many opportunities. Flightline service capabilities must align with the emerging "Base in a Box" concept. In August 2022 at the SE&V Modernization and Innovation Summit held at Warner Robins, the overarching objectives were stated as follows, "The US Military is pursuing systems that support and enhance capabilities needed to achieve agile combat objectives including agile combat employment (ACE), electrification, flightline of the future (FLoF), aerial port of the future (APoF), Digital Engineering, autonomy, and additional innovative initiatives."JBT AeroTech is involved in a number of enhancements to its defense flightline ground support equipment product offerings, with a significant research and development effort going towards the development of JBT's AgileAGE product family. Currently, three new products are now in production and ready for deployment ­ the AgileAir, AgilePower, and Shipboard Mobile Electric Power Plant (SMEPP) multi-purpose, multi-capable towable carts.Air Force ApplicationsAgileAir is a single cart with the capability of supplying conditioned air, bleed (ECS) high-pressure air, and electrical power. Ideal for supporting fighter aircraft, such as the F15, F16, F18, and others, JBT's AgileAir is designed to replace two legacy pieces of equipment ­ the 1970s-era Dash 60 and C10 flightline carts. The new design meets many of the DoD's stated objectives for enhanced agility. AgileAir replaces two carts with a single, air-transportable unit. Footprint and weight requirements for conditioned air, bleed air, and electrical power are reduced. Power is provided by a Cummins QSL6.7 Tier III diesel engine. This replaces the jet turbine traditionally used in air carts. Using diesel power has many benefits. Maintenance requirements are significantly reduced with the high reliability of diesel power. The unit is quieter than the legacy equipment it replaces. And, of real importance to reducing the logistics tail, the AgileAir can run a full 8 hours on a single tank of fuel. The fuel efficiency of the diesel powerplant is 5 to 7 times greater than units using jet turbines. AgileAir is a truly capable bit of agile, mobile AGE. Conditioned air is supplied at 100 ppm airflow, at up to 6 psig static pressure with discharge temperatures of 40F to 60F. ECS air is produced at 100 ppm at 50 to 65 psig. Output electrical power is 75kVA with options for 28VDC.Scott Barber
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