Smart and Connected Bases:
An Opportunity for the USAF to Secure Tomorrow’s
Efficiency Through Today’s Investment
White Paper
Smart and Connected Bases
An Opportunity for the USAF to Secure Tomorrow’s Efficiency
Through Today’s Investment
In an era of reduced resources, where does the USAF find the resources to modernize?
Since the end of WWII the United States has followed a pattern of reducing defense spending following
conflict. This pattern continues today in the post Iraq/Afghanistan era. Today’s motivation is complicated
by the burden of a stressed economy, the high costs of continued global conflict, and dire budgetary
predictions. As the force built under the Reagan buildup nears the end of its useful life, the USAF must find
the resources to build the Air Force for the next 40 years.
Senior USAF leaders have committed themselves to not sanctioning another “hollow force” and to making
sure that every dollar is maximized to provide war-fighting capability for the nation. In an era where budget
allocations are fixed or declining and modernization and readiness requirements are rising, where is the
money to be found? What differentiates today’s resourcing strategies from previous post WWII drawdowns?
That answer lies in the same technology that transformed the post WWII American industrial landscape,
raising individual and industrial productivity to heights only dreamed of decades ago; that answer is Internet
Technology and more specifically, its latest manifestation, the Internet of Everything (IoE).
What if the USAF could reduce electrical consumption by upwards of 35%? What if perimeter security
could be automated, thereby freeing security forces for more important tasks? What if the productivity of an
airman on the flight line was increased 40%? What if cargo passing through an aerial port was automatically
processed for transport downrange? What if an Air Logistics Center Depot became the most efficient
factory setting in the nation? All of these “what ifs” and many more are possible; in fact, they are all being
used by industries and governments across the globe today that have embraced the power of the IoE.
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White Paper
Smart and Connected Bases
Smart+Connected Base
A base is a small city. It has residents, commuters, visitors, employees, hospitals, schools, office buildings,
restaurants, police stations, airports, and much more. All of these elements of the base ecosystem use, or
are impacted by, Internet Technology. Each can also benefit from a Smart+Connected Base infrastructure
that increases connectivity, efficiency, information sharing, and simultaneously reduces operating costs
while improving safety.
To get a feel for the opportunities a Smart+Connected Base offers, let’s follow two airmen through their day
as they navigate a Smart+Connected Base. MSgt Jones is the NCOIC at the Wing’s F-35 AMU and Captain
Williams is a security police flight commander.
As each airman approaches the main gate in the morning they cross under a digital barrier that utilizes
the Cisco® and Aeroscout RFID sensor system to read a RFID tag on their cars identifying them as active
duty USAF members. Simultaneously, the SP on duty at the gate receives a signal notifying her that those
vehicles are approved for automated entry. Both are directed to the automatic gate kiosk where they swipe
their CAC cards and are admitted onto the base. This reduces required manpower at the gate, decreases
wait times for base entry during rush hours, and allows the SP force to concentrate on unidentified and
unregistered vehicles that may pose a threat or require entry assistance. Captain Williams notes the fact
he no longer has to post three airmen at the gate during the morning rush hour. He also notes that with the
auto-photo function each vehicle’s license plate entering the base is captured and registered in the security
system database. This proved to be incredibly useful during an on-base domestic dispute that resulted in an
Amber Alert for a 5-year old dependent taken from the day care center by one of the feuding parents last
week.
MSgt Jones continues on his way to the 435th AMU. As he parks, his cell phone receives a message from
the base hospital reminding him he has a medical appointment at 1100 hours. This message was set up in
his medical profile and contributes towards the hospital’s goal of reducing costly “No Shows” by 50% this
year. Since implementing Cisco’s Smart+Connected workspace/healthcare solutions the hospital has noted
a 32% decrease in no shows.
As MSgt Jones enters his office, the lights, computer
and phone in his office automatically turn on, as his
Smart+Connected Workspace is equipped with motion
sensors that detect he is inside the office. This power
saving feature reduces the amount of electricity his office
uses everyday as he moves frequently from his office
to the flight line. This and other energy saving solutions
were recently implemented across the base with the help
of Cisco’s Energy Management Suite solution as part of
the USAF’s initiative to transfer energy management and
operating costs to the squadron level.
As he settles into his first cup of coffee for the day,
he notes the required actions for the day that were
downloaded from the F-35 Autonomic Logistics
Information System and transmitted via the new
Cisco wireless flight line network to his Cisco desktop
collaboration system overnight.
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Smart and Connected Bases
Through the automated logistics system he can see that parts are available on base for four of the tasks but
two others have parts on order from the vendor and won’t arrive for three days. He remembers when this
used to be a manual process that would not have even started until 0730 in the morning when the “logies”
came to work. With the new system the parts were inventoried and ordered ten hours ago when the night
sorties landed. And with this information he can now focus the day shift on those maintenance tasks that
can be completed today.
At 0900, rather than driving 15 minutes to the Group HQ building and looking for parking for another 10
minutes, he attends the morning stand up via his Cisco DX80 connected desktop collaboration system.
During the stand-up video teleconference, he notices a message on his screen indicating an airman on the
flight line needs assistance with a F-35 repair for an O2 pressure-indicating problem. The airman uses a
handheld camera to simultaneously transmit a high definition video of the problem to Jones’ office desktop
system and tablet screens via the flight line wireless network. From the HD video, MSgt Jones can clearly
see the issue is not an indicator problem but a bent pin in the quick disconnect electrical connector. Rather
than mistasking an environmental systems specialist, he forwards the video to the electrical repair flight
NCO who dispatches an electrical tech to complete the task.
Meanwhile, on a remote part of the ramp an improperly
fueled transient MC-130 has been leaking fuel from a
ruptured internal fuel tank for the past 8 hours. An airman
jogging on the perimeter road recognizes the pungent smell
of JP8 and sees the fuel spill has spread across much of
that part of the ramp. He activates an emergency call button
on a perimeter smart light pole equipped for emergency
communications and relays what he sees to the base
command post (CP). Captain Williams, the Security Forces
Duty Officer in the connected base command post, can see
the spill from a smart light pole equipped with electro-optical
(EO) and infrared (IR) HD cameras and atmospheric sensors.
He recognizes this is a major environmental event and
initiates the response protocol. The fire department can also
see the spill via the smart light system sensors.
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Smart and Connected Bases
The CP immediately sends a notification across the base using connected crisis communication and mass
notification solution provided by Cisco’s partner AtHoc. The AtHoc solution allows the CP to selectively
notify the affected parts of the base that this part of the ramp is closed and must be evacuated. From the
video feed the fire department knows they will need at least two trucks with specialized equipment to deal
with a spill this large. Simultaneously, Security Force Specialists patrolling that part of the base are informed
via Cisco IP Interoperability and Collaboration System (IPICS) to cordon off all approaching roads. All of this
notification and response was generated by one airman manning the base Command Center desk with the
ability to monitor all the smart sensors across the base as well as employ one touch communications with all
base response units to send voice, video, and data across the smart and connected network.
As the day concludes and MSgt Jones leaves his office, his lights, computers, phone and LCD screen
automatically turn off. When he approaches the main gate he notes on the new base digital signage
powered by Cisco’s Digital Media Manager that the BX is having a sale this weekend and a reminder that
the University of Maryland will have an open house for its bachelor’s degree program this Wednesday. He
remembers he needs to get in that degree program before he meets his SMSgt board later in the year,
as well as a briefing in the recent Commander’s Call that the BX has seen a 12% increase in foot traffic
and a 4% increase in sales since it started using the base digital signage and kiosks. The increased sales
have made a big difference in the Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) budget for this year allowing the
reinstitution of summer youth programs that were cut two years ago before the smart base initiative was
implemented.
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Smart and Connected Bases
Captain Smith is also approaching the end of his day. He has one last thing he wants to do. He downloads
the video of the fuels incident from the Cisco cloud-based video archive for review tomorrow with the
fire chief. They will review the disaster response for best practices, errors, and lessons learned as well as
prepare a de-briefing for the Wing Commander and write their incident report for higher headquarters.
The technologies described in this vignette are all in use today with governments and businesses across
the globe. Cisco has been a global leader in bringing greater efficiency to institutions seeking to reduce
operating expenses while increasing safety, security, and services to the communities they serve. Cities
such as Barcelona, Chicago, Dallas, Song Do, Mississauga, and Ontario, along with businesses such as
GM, Boeing, and Harley Davidson have all seen substantial reductions in OPEX and immediate ROI on their
investments. The same is possible for the USAF, allowing it to use repatriated O&M dollars for acquisitions
and modernization. The USAF has a rich history of being the technology and innovation leader in the DoD.
Cisco looks forward to being the USAF’s partner as it moves forward with using the power of the Internet of
Everything technology wave.
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Smart and Connected Bases
Enabling Technologies
• Cisco Energy Management Suite: Throughout the day Cisco Energy Management Suite (CEM) was
working behind the scenes to see, measure, and manage the energy utilization all of the “IP enabled
devices” that provided foundational capabilities for this scenario. Cisco’s CEM Suite is the central
technology to optimize energy consumption across the base infrastructure. It is designed to see,
measure, and manage energy usage of all IP-connected systems while cutting energy costs by 35
percent across a distributed network. CEM empowers the USAF to measure usage, adjust power to
actual demand, and implement best practices for energy management across its enterprise as well as
identify inefficient systems, configurations, and operational practices. Available as an on-premises, asa-service, or cloud-based solution, it provides unheard of efficiencies to distributed networks and data
centers. cisco.com/c/en/us/products/switches/energy-management-technology/index.html
• Cisco Physical Security, Disaster Response and Environmental Monitoring Through Smart Lighting:
The Cisco Smart+Connected Lighting solution noted in the scenario creates Light Sensory Networks
(LSN) that transform energy saving LED light fixtures into sensor-equipped, smart devices capable of
capturing and transmitting a wide variety of data from the environment, including levels of humidity, CO2/
O2, UVA/UVB, particulate matter, motion and seismic activity, video, and sound in near real-time. The
Cisco Smart+Connected Lighting solution, when combined with the Smart+Connected Multi-Sensor
Node, uses existing lighting infrastructure to create a powerful LSN. This data, transmitted over an LSN,
is capable of supporting many base services from law enforcement to environmental improvement,
transportation oversight, and disaster response without adding significantly more physical infrastructure.
cisco.com/web/strategy/smart_connected_communities/city-lighting.html
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Smart and Connected Bases
• Cisco IP Interoperability and Collaboration System (IPICS): The Cisco IPICS solution simplifies radio
dispatch operations and improves response to incidents, emergencies, and facility events. Cisco IPICS
dissolves communication barriers between land-mobile -radio (LMR) systems and devices such as
mobile phones, landline phones, IP phones, and PCs, supporting communications among users of all
devices, wherever they are located. cisco.com/c/en/us/products/physical-security/ip-interoperabilitycollaboration-system/index.html
• Cisco Connected Health Care: Cisco Connected Health solutions and services enable new levels of
communication and collaboration among patients, providers, payers, and life science organizations. Built
on a highly secure network of interoperable technologies, these Cisco solutions are crafted to meet the
healthcare community’s unique compliance, bandwidth, stability, and interoperability requirements. cisco.
com/web/strategy/healthcare/index.html
• Cisco Media Suite: Cisco Media Suite provides the delivery and management tools, signage, and
applications to communicate, connect, and engage the entire base community on various topics such
as safety and security, training, transportation information, MWR, and healthcare. Cisco Media Suite
is the vehicle to deliver compelling and interactive media and messaging using open source and well
established industry standards. cisco.com/c/en/us/products/video/digital-media-suite/index.html
• Cisco AeroScout RFID: Misplaced mobile toolkits, machinery, parts, and work-in-process inventory
generate costs in efficiency, safety and inventory management. In its Location-Based Services solutions,
Cisco and AeroScout offer a family of mission- critical technologies that help manufacturers to increase
visibility and minimize losses resulting from theft, management inefficiencies, damage, and loss. cisco.
com/web/strategy/docs/manufacturing/Aeroscout-Cisco-Brochure.pdf
• Cisco Wireless Solutions: Cisco Aironet Outdoor access points can be deployed in a variety of
demanding environments. These access points provide a variety of capabilities, including: self-healing,
self-optimizing networks that avoid RF interference, client connections in mixed client environments, and
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