JULY 25, 2024 – Members of the 58th Special Operations Wing and a development team from the University of Oklahoma are working together to develop a light box meant to replace infrared glow sticks and mimic IR strobes used during night operations.
Recently, lead developers for the project, Bryce Gooden, mechanical engineering student, Brandt Smith, director of the Tom Love Innovation Hub, and Drew Hendricks, representative of the National Security Innovation Network, visited Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., to conduct the prototype’s first proof of concept test on April 4, 2024.
Hendricks was contacted by Maj. Daniel Durbin, 58th Special Operations Wing CV-22 instructor pilot, and was presented the problem the instructors at the 58 SOW were experiencing. Shortly afterwards, the program process was started at OU to develop a solution.
“We needed something in the (landing) zone,” said Maj. Daniel Durbin, 58th Special Operations Wing CV-22 instructor pilot. “For the type of training we do, we needed a light that we could land off of visually to aid in our training.”
Work on the prototype began when Durbin reached out to Hendricks inquiring about the NSIN program. This is a program under the Department of Defense that fosters a network of innovators from academia, defense and venture communities to find creative solutions for problems affecting national security.
“Our group was presented the task of creating a light that could sit out in the desert and turn on remotely,” Gooden said. “Over the course of several meetings with the 58 SOW, we went from something super heavy and industrial to something much more portable and simplistic.”
Fittingly named the Blink 180V22, the prototype was developed and built by students at OU as an air deployable lighting system that mimics enemy gunfire and various IR light emitting pieces of equipment used by infantry to signal aircraft.
In use, the Blink system can be deployed in remote environments and operated remotely in flight by the pilot or aircrew to emit an IR light, depending on the training scenario. This eliminates the use of IR glow sticks as a visual aid which saves money and the man hours needed to clean up the glow sticks after use.
“Our unit alone spends over $8,000 a month on glow sticks,” Durbin said. “In the grand scheme of things, I don’t think this even begins to scratch the surface when you take into consideration other units and our sister services use of glow sticks during their night flights.”
During the test, the team flew in a UH-1N helicopter to deploy the system in a remote environment and test the prototype’s capabilities during a training scenario. After a successful test, the development team shared their thoughts with the pilots and aircrew and discussed design considerations and future changes that needed to be made.
“Although this system is still under development, it shows great potential,” said Durbin. “NSIN is very easy to work with and if you have a problem or if there’s something that doesn’t exist exactly the way you want it, they help you make ideas reality. I am grateful we had a dedicated team at the 58th that worked day in and day out to make these ideas come to fruition.”
Story by Senior Airman Spencer Kanar
377th Air Base Wing