Johnstown, PA August 31, 2020

AFWERX, the catalyst for fostering innovation within the U.S. Air Force, announced Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) as one of the top 92 participating teams selected from across the globe competing to build the Base of the Future Challenge.

The AFWERX Challenge is centered around six topics - Base Security, Installation Resilience, Leveraging Technology for Operational Effectiveness, Reverse Engineering, Culture of Innovation, and Airman and Family Wellbeing. The proposals selected to advance represent innovative solutions ranging from new base security technology and VR training modules to virtual assistants and apps designed for wellness and leadership development.  

CTC is competing in the Enabling Technologies for Reverse Engineering and Agile Manufacturing Challenge alongside a diverse group of teams - originating from the vast regions of North America, Europe, Australia and other allied countries – that represent entrepreneurial startups, small businesses, large enterprises, academic institutions and research labs all vying to build the Base of the Future and modernize the Department of Defense. 

“The AFWERX Base of the Future Challenge is critical to our mission of increasing collaboration between large businesses and entrepreneurs to accelerate solutions for the Air Force,” stated Mark Rowland of AFWERX. “On behalf of AFWERX and the Department of Defense, we congratulate the teams advancing to the next phase. Their contributions are invaluable and have the potential to create game-changing results across the Air Force enterprise.” 

The Enabling Technologies for Reverse Engineering and Agile Manufacturing Challenge seeks to gather solutions on how to reverse engineer obsolete legacy parts and turn them into 3D models using the latest technologies in additive and agile manufacturing. The Challenge focuses on ways we bring ideas into the real world by converting 2D designs into 3D models in a universally compatible way. Exploring concepts to improve and define the best design practices to create a standard 3D package for agile and additive manufacturing. If the Air Force can build a new digital database of 3D designs, it will be critical to mission effectiveness and help the U.S. Air Force avoid grounding aircraft. 

“Additive Manufacturing (AM) continues to grow in popularity with respect to addressing DoD needs, including prototypes, part obsolesce, rapid evaluations/fit-up, etc.,” said Ken Sabo, CTC Senior Director, Manufacturing. “However, metal AM parts when fabricated as a whole, continue to be called into question due to quality concerns and lack of AM standards.”

CTC is submitting a solution that focuses on AM repair techniques (as opposed to initial fabrication), specifically hybrid additive manufacturing technologies. These new hybrid technologies leverage milling machines in which the laser-based material deposition head(s) are installed. This AM repair approach will be faster to qualify, as the DoD parts will be repaired, not fabricated as a whole. 

The AFWERX Fusion 2020 Showcase recently featured 370 of the participating teams selected from a record breaking 1,500+ submissions received for the Base of the Future Challenge. Throughout the event teams pitched their solutions to a panel of subject matter experts from the relevant sectors of the Air Force. The top 92 selections were identified and invited to further engage with the Air Force during the week of August 31 with the hope of obtaining contracts. For a complete list of participating teams visit fusion.afwerxshowcase.com/.

The Base of the Future theme was inspired by Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, which was decimated by Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm that occurred in 2018. For decades, Tyndall had been home to many generations of Airmen and their families. In the storm's aftermath, nearly 500 buildings were destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Fortunately, Congress approved a $3 billion military construction rebuild program, sparking hope that Tyndall would re-emerge stronger than ever before. The aspirational initiative seeks to create a robust installation that will become a universal symbol of innovation and excellence that can scale across the U.S. Air Force. To learn more about the Base of the Future Challenges, click here. 

ABOUT Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) 

CTC is an independent, nonprofit, applied scientific research and development professional services organization. Together with our affiliates, Enterprise Ventures Corporation and CTC Foundation, we leverage research, development, test and evaluation work to provide transformative, full lifecycle solutions. To best serve our clients’ needs, we offer the complete ability to fully design, develop, test, prototype and build. We deliver robust, technical, and innovative solutions that safeguard our national security, retain U.S. technological advantage, and ensure the primacy of American manufacturing. For more information about CTC, visit www.ctc.com.

ABOUT AFWERX

Established in 2017, AFWERX is a product of the U.S. Air Force, directly envisioned by former Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson. Her vision of AFWERX — to solve some of the toughest challenges that the Air Force faces through innovation and collaboration amongst our nation’s top subject matter experts. AFWERX serves as a catalyst to unleash new approaches for the warfighter through a growing ecosystem of innovators. AFWERX and the U.S. Air Force are committed to exploring viable solutions and partnerships to further strengthen the Air Force, which could lead to additional prototyping, R&D, and follow-on production contracts.