The U.S. Air Force’s 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron has made a contribution to Crowd-Sourced Flight Data by equipping the initial set of Combat Air Forces F-35 fighter jets with the Quick Reaction Instrumentation Package.
QRIP is a device that can collect a terabyte of data each flight, providing developers access to large volumes of data within minutes to accelerate software development and mission reprogramming changes and speed up the development and delivery of data products to pilots and intelligence officers.
“QRIP captures data that is currently not being recorded, or being discarded at the cutting room floor, and makes it available and accessible at the speed of relevance,” Lt. Col. Nathan Malafa, 59th Test and Evaluation squadron commander.
QRIP has been installed in 19 CAF F-35 jets and the Air Force said it plans to expand the deployment of the instrumentation package to other fighter planes and platforms.
“The more data we can collect from the Air Force’s diverse portfolio puts the ‘crowd’ in CSFD and amplifies data sets we can use to gain competitive advantage against our adversaries and competitors,” noted Malafa.
