Rapid Sustainment Office demonstrates new digital binder application for reducing aircraft maintenance time

The U.S. Air Force’s Rapid Sustainment Office in collaboration with Google Public Sector has completed development and initial testing of its Lighthouse Information Technology Engine (LITE) Digital Maintenance Binder application developed to replace legacy paper-based maintenance data forms, prone to manual data errors and time-consuming inefficiencies. By digitizing this process, maintainers can capture data directly at the point of maintenance, eliminating redundant data entry and physical transportation of binders.

During a "Return on Investment Event" at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB), Nevada, held January 12-16, 2026 with the 57th Strike Aircraft Maintenance Unit (57 AMU), the RSO’s Maintenance Digital Ecosystems (MxDE) team demonstrated the application's ability to revolutionize aircraft maintenance documentation, collecting critical data and user feedback yielding numerous improvements:

• Massive Time Savings: Crew chiefs saved an estimated 2-4 hours per shift by eliminating manual binder creation and management. The time to document a single maintenance action was reduced by over 65%, from an average of 3 minutes and 19 seconds with paper to just over 1 minute with the Digital Maintenance Binder, allowing maintainers more hands-on time for maintenance.
• Improved Data Accuracy: The LITE Digital Maintenance Binder application’s built-in validation rules and automated data imports prevent incorrect data entry, leading to higher-quality and more consistent documentation.
• Enhanced Workflow Efficiency: The application enables parallel documentation, allowing multiple teams to work simultaneously, speeding up aircraft release. During an unanticipated power outage on the flightline, the Digital Maintenance Binder remained fully functional, proving its resilience and ensuring operational continuity.

During the demonstration event, the MxDE team observed 26 aircraft launches and 27 recoveries, successfully processing over 200 maintenance actions and 1,480 data transmissions to the Integrated Maintenance Data System (IMDS) test environment.

Maintainers from the 57 AMU praised the system for its ease of use and intuitive design.

“Having [the Digital Maintenance Binder] will change the way we do things,” said crew chief, Senior Airman Karsen Kiefer. “I think it will take a while for us to understand just how much time this will save us.”

Staff Sergeant Jacob Janusz, 57 AMU maintainer, added, “Digital Binder just works. I wish we were using it right now…when will we get it?”

The RSO LITE Digital Maintenance Binder additionally received strong support from 57 AMU leadership.

"We have to put our foot on the gas and move beyond just talking about innovation,” said Col. Casey R. Crabill, commander of the 57th Maintenance Group. “My team is ready to break down barriers—we are here to make this happen."

Next steps for the application include securing broader command support and connecting the system to the IMDS production environment for wider implementation.