STRIKEWERX sprint helps solve icing challenge on B-52 engines

BOSSIER CITY, La. – STRIKEWERX, Air Force Global Strike Command’s innovation hub, hosted a Design Sprint the week of July 18 to help find a solution for B-52 engines in extreme cold.

The sprint specifically sought to solve how to aid the heating of the engine cowling on B-52 aircraft in areas such as Minot AFB, North Dakota, which can see temperatures as low as negative 52 degrees Fahrenheit.

Over the course of four days in STRIKEWERX at the Cyber Innovation Center, Bossier City, Louisiana, a team of industry, academia and subject matter experts worked towards a solution that is weatherproof, easy to use, flexible and easy to store.

“We chose the STRIKEWERX Design Sprint because it can give us new ideas and new solutions,” said B-52 Crew Chief Adam Vasas, of Minot AFB. “We received a lot of good input, a lot of things the industry experts suggested that we haven’t thought of out in the field, in order to get our problem solved.”