On Jan. 11, the Air Force concluded the first department-wide, secret classification innovation hackathon at Nellis Air Force Base inside the Threat Training Center’s hangar following six days of 24-hour operations.
Working beneath the wings of MiG jets strewn with duct-taped network and power cables, over 80 hackers – product managers, engineers, pilots, and data and visualization scientists – of experience ranging from E-3 to general officer and with contributions from 12 industry partners – developed capabilities leveraging Air Force weapons, sensor, health and maintenance data. These new capabilities were demonstrated during a science fair-style exhibition.
The approximately 200 hackers, support staff, attendees and judges came from Air Force software engineering groups, software factories, and flight and frontline units. The group included 15 general officer-level attendees and judges including the Air Force’s vice chief of staff, chief data officer, chief experience officer, chief science officer, and additional senior members from Air Combat Command.