ATAC-20 Takes Aim at Alternative Aircraft Coating Challenges

  • Published
  • By Brian Brackens
  • Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – After 14 weeks of rigorous research, travel, and intensive team building, the Advanced Tactical Acquisition Corps (ATAC) Cohort 20 has successfully concluded its program, delivering actionable solutions to senior Air Force leaders on the transition of alternative aircraft coatings.
ATAC-20 was tasked with solving why alternative aircraft coatings – tested and validated to military specifications – struggle to transition from the lab to actual implementation on aircraft.

Identifying the Bottlenecks

"Alternative aircraft coatings that did not have hexavalent chromium, we found, were rare, and didn't meet every platform's mission requirement," said Tech. Sgt, Robert Taylor, member of the cohort and contracting officer with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), as he explained one of the challenges to the widespread use of alternative aircraft coating.

A significant hurdle the team uncovered was the issue of proprietary data and intellectual property rights. When original equipment manufacturers develop alternative coatings, the data is often siloed.

"For instance, something that worked for a C-5 might work for a different plane," Taylor said. "But because whoever created that alternative coating for the C-5 has proprietary information, it was very difficult for us to share that across the Air Force for other platforms."

To combat these bottlenecks, ATAC-20 proposed several key recommendations:
 
  • The team recommended a joint Memorandum for Record (MFR) between Air Force Materiel Command and the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. This would establish semi-annual reviews and improve information sharing on Hexavalent Chromium reduction efforts.
  • The cohort advocated for increased use of an existing digital modeling tool, Simcenter STAR-CCM+. Promoting this tool across the enterprise could significantly reduce testing costs and timelines associated with corrosion and material effects on aircraft surfaces.
  • To address the proprietary data silos, the team recommended an AFLCMC MFR focused on improving data rights training for corrosion personnel and ensuring the proper inclusion of data rights clauses in future contracts.
While the team has secured buy-in from leadership, the work continues.

Beyond providing recommendations and solving complex acquisition problems, ATAC is fundamentally a leadership development program designed for junior military and civilian members.

The program is built on three pillars, solving a real-world problem statement, academics, and developing a personal leadership philosophy.

Their itinerary included a Congressional Operations Seminar in Washington D.C., engagements at the Pentagon, the AFA Warfare Symposium in Denver, and a five-day leadership capstone at the University of Tennessee where they engaged with corporate executives from large companies.

For Taylor, the experience was challenging but ultimately rewarding.

"I would highly recommend ATAC," Taylor said. "Who I walked in as on day one was not the same person that left on the last day. I hope everybody that gets an opportunity to apply and gets into ATAC gets the same result – that they leave transformed."