BESPIN and Singapore Air Force reach for the stars

Business Enterprise Systems Product Innovation (BESPIN) has gone international! We’ve partnered with members of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Agile Innovation Digital (RAiD) software development team to work in tandem on an effort dubbed the Stargazer project.

Over an eight-week period, starting June 26 and ending August 19, three BESPIN Airmen and five members of RAiD will work together to develop Stargazer, a plugin designed to monitor open text fields and detect when sensitive information is submitted.?

“BESPIN is thrilled to have the RAiD team here for eight weeks! The opportunity to showcase the BESPIN Enterprise Services and discuss how our path to production and application development processes share similarities and differences is an excellent opportunity for international digital learning with allies,” said BESPIN Chief Operating Officer (COO), Lt. Col. Tyler Hough. “The RAiD team brings a wealth of experience and knowledge and the BESPIN Airmen on the project are fortunate to learn new skills from our international partners. The minimum viable product (MVP) from this project is just the beginning of a long term partnership with the Republic of Singapore Air Force advancing technology.”?

The idea for Stargazer was conceived in November 2022 when RAiD team members visited BESPIN during a weeklong stay in the U.S. to tour various technical innovation facilities. During that trip, the RAiD team learned about several of BESPIN’s mobile and web applications, software development processes and technical innovation efforts.

“It was during the GearFit presentation when we realized that we have a common obstacle,” said Kok Keong Wong, a Military Expert 5 (ME5) in the RSAF. “In GearFit, there’s a notification near an open text field reminding users not to include any sensitive information, and we have a very similar wording in an application that we created. It’s a common problem that we’re both experiencing and we’re working together to create a solution.”

GearFit is a web-based platform that allows Air Force aircrew to submit direct feedback about their gear to better inform decisions about critical flight equipment.?

Wong said the goal is for Stargazer to be configured for use by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and the RSAF.

“Right now, both air force services have to manually check for sensitive information leaks on the backend, which can be a time consuming process,” Wong said.?

BESPIN Senior Airman Christopher Hodge said the team is mainly working to create a management suite allowing the end users to customize the level of sensitivity detection for identifying sensitive words or phrases.

Stargazer will decrease data spillage response times so that contributors can cauterize the impact of data spillage. It also aims to remove the burden from development teams to try to catch sensitive information leaks before they happen, as well as from users who may not know they’re releasing sensitive information. Stargazer will lead to reduced concerns regarding information leaks for USAF and RSAF leadership.?

The Stargazer project makes good on a Letter of Understanding for tech innovation signed by the U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Q. Brown and RSAF Chief of Air Force Major General Kelvin Khong that outlines a desire to further strengthen their relationship by working together on technological advancements.??

The Stargazer team is composed of SrA Christopher Hodge, SrA Jowyn Ordinario, SrA Aiden Smith, ME5 Kok Keong Wong, ME4 Natasha Lum, ME4 Oliver Teo, ME2 Adam Ong, and 3rd Sergeant Ryan Tan.?