Governor Perdue Announces Landmark Partnership with U.S. Air Force

Technology transfer agreement gives Georgia companies business opportunities with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center

ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that Georgia companies will have more chances to win U.S. Air Force (USAF) contracts under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Georgia and the USAF based at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC) at Robins Air Force Base. The agreement, which will facilitate the transfer of new technologies to WR-ALC, will also enhance the center’s military value to the Air Force.

"This historic agreement represents the State of Georgia’s first formal research and development partnership with the United States Air Force," said Governor Sonny Perdue. "We are excited about the opportunity to provide the Air Force easier access to the innovative technologies being developed by research universities and companies right here in Georgia."

Under the terms of the agreement, the Georgia Aerospace Innovation Center (AIC) in Warner Robins and the Engineering Directorate of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center will be the points of contact for the partnership. Under the leadership of the AIC, consortia of private companies will ally with University System of Georgia researchers and work directly with the Air Force to help solve specific technological challenges. The USAF will thus be able to utilize the powerful research capabilities of Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia.

"CRADA may prove to be one of the greatest partnerships our center has ever embarked upon," said, Maj. Gen. Tom Owen, WR-ALC commander. "Technical challenges are plentiful for an industrial complex like Robins. With CRADA, I’m confident solutions will become commonplace. I believe CRADA will help us leverage the best from government, industry and academia to achieve maximum value for our worldwide mission."

In addition, this milestone agreement will give Georgia companies of all sizes a product development pipeline to the Air Force. As a sector of state government, the Aerospace Innovation Center is recognized by the USAF to be an "honest broker" with which it can share a variety of technology needs and opportunities that it cannot share with prospective bidders, except as provided by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. The scope of the CRADA between Georgia and the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center includes all commands supported by the base’s Engineering Directorate, thus giving the AIC "real-time" access to virtually all base technological challenges, facilities and activity. This access will better enable AIC clients and the state’s research and development resources to meet WR-ALC’s needs.

"We are proud that AIC will play a leading role in rallying Georgia’s deep resources in aerospace and aviation technology to support Warner Robins and our military forces," said Nick Fuhrman, director of the Aerospace Innovation Center. "This is a great opportunity to showcase our technology sector’s ability to provide fast, off-the-shelf solutions for the USAF."

Projects developed under the CRADA will be housed in the AIC’s Unified New Technology Insertion Lab (UNTIL). The lab, presently a virtual entity, will become a physical facility where WR-ALC personnel and Georgia companies can collaborate on a variety of hands-on technology demonstration programs. UNTIL represents an unequalled opportunity for companies in the state to showcase their technology solutions for USAF program managers.

The agreement was written to encompass virtually any technology needs of the Wings and Tenant Combatant Commands resident at Robins AFB, meaning everything from process innovation and work-flow improvement technologies to the most sophisticated radar, avionics and electronic warfare technologies are open to CRADA assistance. Consortia that succeed in developing a needed technology at a reasonable price are not guaranteed a USAF contract, but have a much-improved chance of winning one, with the assistance of the Aerospace Innovation Center.

The Aerospace Innovation Center (AIC), Georgia’s designated state agency for the aerospace industry, fosters innovation and the growth of existing companies and start up ventures, giving world-leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) integrators and Maintenance Repail and Overhaul (MRO) real solutions and opportunities to grow. For more information, visit http://aerospace.georgiainnovation.org/

The WR-ALC and Robins AFB provides combat capabilities for our Department of Defense warfighters and allies through superior sustainment of combat ready forces. The center provides worldwide sustainment management support for various aircraft, weapon systems, missiles, remotely piloted vehicles, support equipment, electronic warfare and avionics systems, and all Air Force helicopters. Additionally, Robins has a $4.2 billion economic impact on the state of Georgia with an annual payroll of more than $1.4 billion.