Electronic flight bags could boost operational safety, effectiveness
U.S. Air Force Capt. Brett Pierson, a pilot with the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, refers to his personal computer tablet during preflight checks aboard a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft bound for a refueling mission in Afghanistan May 8, 2011, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Hanscom Collaboration and Innovation Center at Hanscom AFB, Mass., is working with industry to provide Air Mobility Command pilots with hardened digital tablets, which can withstand digital attack and electronic interference during flight, replacing hundreds of pages of printed material with secure electronic flight bags. This acquisition method, known as a plug-test can quickly put needed tools in the hands of warfighters, before the technology is outdated. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Master Sgt. William Greer)