Hanscom touts advanced technology during Expo

  • Published
  • By Mark Wyatt
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Congressional staffers, local civic leaders and industry partners joined members of the base community to learn about the critical work done here to develop advanced technology for the warfighter during the Hanscom Expo Sept. 13.

The event provided attendees an opportunity to speak with Airmen and civilian personnel and view technology demonstrations.

“This is an opportunity to dialogue about what we do here at Hanscom, to educate some of our local leaders and some of our folks who might not be able to see our portfolio on a daily basis,” said Col. Ryan Mantz, deputy director of the Battle Management directorate. “I’m thrilled to be able to provide you a look at our war-winning capabilities that we are delivering to the warfighter.”

Participating in the expo were personnel from Battle Management; Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks; and Nuclear Command, Control and Communications Integration directorates.

Among the programs on hand was the C3I and Networks’ Battlefield Airborne Communication Node, more commonly known as BACN, which ensures warfighters stay connected in austere environments, even if line-of-sight communication is blocked by mountains or other obstacles.

“Events like this provide us an opportunity to get the idea out to academia and industry about what we can provide and allows us to see what they can do for us and what we can work on together to increase capability,” said 1st Lt. Cameron Burchak, a member of the BACN team.

Community leaders had the opportunity to attend a morning or afternoon session.

Gina Rada, the Veterans’ Services district director for Lexington and Bedford, said it was exciting to learn about what’s done here.

“It’s amazing to see what is happening right down the street from our town,” Rada said.

Following demonstrations at the conference center, attendees went to the Hanscom flightline to view NASA and test aircraft, as well as Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve aircraft from across New England.

Maj. Brian Carloni, a KC-135 pilot for the 157th Air Refueling Wing at Pease Air National Guard Base in New Hampshire, discussed Battle Management’s Mission Planning program as a key component to the aircraft that the New Hampshire Air National Guard operates.

“We had a gentleman here yesterday who works on mission planning systems that we use to accomplish our refueling mission,” said Carloni. “It was great for him to learn that what he does here we use in the 157th Air Refueling Wing in New Hampshire.”

U.S. Army Warrant Officer Sam Johnson, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot for the Massachusetts National Guard, also spoke about showcasing his unit’s capability.

“It’s a lot of fun for us and it’s great to see people get excited about seeing it [the Blackhawk helicopter], get in and ask a lot of questions,” Johnson said.

Col. Roman L. Hund, installation commander, discussed the opportunity to share with the community the work done at Hanscom.

“This event was a great opportunity to show congressional staffers, local civic leaders, industry partners and others the exciting work we do and the tremendous professionals who make it happen,” Hund said.