Air Force Pilots Get an AI-Assist With Scheduling Aircrews

Abstract

Scheduling C-17 aircraft crews is complicated. It’s a pain point for Airmen of 52 squadrons who operate C-17s, the military cargo aircraft that transport troops and supplies globally. This year, the Air Force marked four million flight hours for its C-17 fleet, which comprises 275 U.S. and allied aircraft. Each flight requires scheduling a crew of six on average.

A team spanning MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the Department of the Air Force and the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics collaborated with their Air Force sponsor organization to develop an AI–enabled plugin for the existing C-17 scheduling tool that automates C-17 aircrew scheduling and optimizes crew resources.