McConnell hosts 2026 Air Mobility Command Summer Industry Preview
During this year’s event, industry partners received a firsthand look at challenges facing the Mobility Air Force through live demonstrations and discussions with Airmen, subject matter experts and senior leaders.
Introduced by Air Mobility Command in 2022, the Summer Industry Preview connects operational units with industry partners through live demonstrations conducted in an operational environment. The event serves as a precursor to the annual Airlift/Tanker Association Industry Day, where participating companies can present proposed solutions to AMC subject matter experts for further evaluation.
Industry partners were challenged to address five areas: protecting base infrastructure from electromagnetic threats, sustaining operations in CBRN-contaminated environments, maintaining secure communications, protecting deployed forces from threats such as small unmanned aircraft, and improving cargo and logistics operations in austere environments.
“The partnerships represented in this room — industry leaders, engineers, entrepreneurs and mission-focused problem solvers — are essential to shaping the future of air refueling and our ability to support executing the mission during our worst day,” said Col. Joseph Wall, 22nd Air Refueling Wing commander. “You bring perspectives we need, capabilities we rely on and ideas that will help us meet the challenges ahead.”
One of those challenges was demonstrated through aircraft cargo-loading operations involving the KC-46A Pegasus and KC-135 Stratotanker. The demonstrations examined how Airmen could rapidly load and unload cargo in austere environments without relying on equipment and infrastructure normally available at established bases, including a prototype cargo-handling system demonstrated on the KC-135 as an alternative to traditional equipment such as a K-loader.
Melinda Bradley, 22nd Operations Group resource adviser, helped coordinate the event and worked with demonstration teams to build scenarios around limitations Airmen encounter during operations. During preparation, teams challenged their exhibition by asking what would happen if the equipment, personnel or infrastructure normally required to accomplish the mission were unavailable.
“You have a K-loader that can do this, but what if you don't?” Bradley said.
Bradley said the demonstrations were designed to challenge industry partners to think beyond conventional capabilities and consider solutions that are lighter, more mobile and less dependent on established infrastructure.
“Take us back to the Stone Age and tell us how we do all this without it,” Bradley said. “How do we do it lighter, leaner and with no power?”
For Bradley, the Summer Industry Preview is more than an event she helps coordinate. She has participated in three SIPs, taking on roles ranging from logistics and group leadership to working directly with demonstration teams.
“I love this event,” Bradley said. “I would do this every year if I could.”
The opportunity to see those challenges firsthand is also what keeps industry partners returning to SIP.
“As we look ahead, the demands on the Mobility Air Forces are only increasing,” Wall said. “Continued high ops tempo, contested and congested environments, and the need to stay ahead of our challengers and threats require us to think differently, act decisively and partner smartly.”
The 2026 Summer Industry Preview continues AMC's effort to connect operational challenges with industry expertise, giving Airmen and industry partners an opportunity to see problems firsthand and turn those observations into potential solutions for future mobility operations.
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