Automated Tow Trap Offers Potential Time, Cost, and Risk Reduction for MQ-9 Reaper Maintenance Personnel
A breakthrough prototype aircraft tug at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, is poised to streamline maintenance operations for MQ-9 Reaper drones, reducing costs, enhancing safety, and aiding the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment strategy.
Known as TowFLEXX, the remote-controlled, electric tug offers a reduced logistical footprint, taking up less space than conventional aircraft towing systems. This is advantageous for Agile Combat Employment, a strategy aimed at dispersing Air Force teams to smaller or austere air bases, making it difficult for adversaries such as Russia and China to target them.
Tech. Sgt. Dwane Parmelee of the 49th Component Maintenance Squadron at Holloman revealed that the older versions of tow vehicles required two to three pallet positions, whereas the TowFLEXX would only take up one, leaving space for additional storage.
The prototype TowFLEXX at Holloman is exceptional, as it's equipped with a Light and Detection Range (LiDAR) collision avoidance system. This feature detects obstacles and automatically stops the tug, requiring fewer Airmen to supervise the towing operation.
Under the traditional system, towing a Reaper might require five to six Airmen – one to handle the towing vehicle, three or more to serve as wing and tail walkers, and a supervisor. With the TowFLEXX, only the vehicle operator and two wing walkers are needed, freeing up maintainers for other critical tasks.
Senior Master Sgt. Joseph Anger, quality assurance superintendent for the 49th Maintenance Group, emphasized that every hour saved from employing technology rather than human labor translates to time and money savings. He estimates that over 3,000 hours per year could be saved just towing MQ-9 Reapers at Holloman.
The TowFLEXX's price tag — between $50,000 and $90,000 — seems justifiable considering the anticipated savings, especially at a time when many Air Force bases are grappling with a shortage of maintainers and an aging fleet of aircraft. Additionally, the LiDAR-equipped TowFLEXX could potentially increase flightline safety by preventing collisions.
During a recent demonstration, the LiDAR system successfully identified obstacles inches away from the aircraft and stopped the tug, leaving some maintainers astonished.
Moreover, the TowFLEXX's impressive maneuverability, derived from its lack of a towbar and two motors, allows it to spin the Reaper in place, enabling better aircraft and equipment storage in confined spaces. This capability is valuable for Agile Combat Employment, where tight spaces and swift, efficient movements are crucial.
Speaking to the potential of the TowFLEXX, Anger expressed a vision for the tug to tow aircraft autonomously in the future.
"I aspire to have these TowFLEXXes pull up to the aircraft, connect, and tow without anyone being there," Anger said.
The development of the TowFLEXX at Holloman Base can be traced back to the efforts of Senior Master Sgt. Anger, who leveraged the Air Force's AFWERX program to liaise between flightlines and tech companies. Through AFWERX, he was able to access small business innovation research contracts, fostering outside-the-box thinking among Airmen and other innovators.
In 2023, there was an upward trend in ground mishaps involving maintenance, aircraft towing, and other flight line work. The tow-capable TF3 may help reduce those collisions by providing a 360-degree view of the aircraft and its surroundings, improving mishap prevention.
With the help of funding from the Strategic Funding and Tactical Funding programs, Anger hopes to facilitate the swift progress of the TowFLEXX project from the prototype phase to scaled-up production.
"I hope that in the near future, we could be replacing the older systems with this new autonomous technology," Anger said. "The more Airmen have a voice in innovation, the better. We have a lot of great technology that we are working on, and we are going to be able to save money, save time, and improve the quality of life for Airmen."
The TowFLEXX, a remote-controlled, electric aircraft tug at Holloman Air Force Base, is designed to incorporate data-and-cloud-computing technology and may eventually tow aircraft autonomously in the future, as envisioned by Senior Master Sgt. Joseph Anger.
The space force and air force could potentially benefit from the TowFLEXX, as it reduces the logistical footprint needed for conventional aircraft towing systems, making it advantageous for Agile Combat Employment, a strategy aimed at dispersing teams to austere air bases.
The TowFLEXX is equipped with a LiDAR collision avoidance system, which detects obstacles and automatically stops the tug, potentially increasing flightline safety by preventing collisions in space or on Earth.
The TodFLEXX prototype could save over 3,000 hours per year in towing MQ-9 Reapers at Holloman, a notable savings given the current shortage of maintainers and the aging fleet of aircraft in the Department of Defense (DOD).
