Features

NPC, NPC-L ready to save lives

by Air Mobility Command
July 9, 2020
A Negatively Pressurized Conex sits on a k-loader after 721st Aerial Port Squadron personnel unloaded it from a C-17 Globemaster III at Ramstein Air Base, June 24. The NPC is a more durable system than the existing Transport Isolation System. The NPC is an infectious disease containment unit designed to minimize contamination risk to aircrew and medical attendants, while allowing in-flight medical care for patients afflicted by diseases like COVID-19. Photo by Senior Airman Milton Hamilton

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – On June 24 the first Negatively Pressurized Conex ready for operational use touched down at Ramstein Air Base, with 16 experts from Joint Base Charleston and three members of the program office team to stand on alert status and train additional Airmen on the NPC.

The NPC is configured for the C-17 Globemaster III and C-5 Super Galaxy aircraft to safely transport up to 28 passengers or 23 patients, including ambulatory and litter, around the globe, while the Negatively Pressurized Conex-Lite is a smaller variation configured to be used aboard the C-130 Hercules.

U.S. Air Force personnel assigned to the 721st Aerial Port Squadron off-load a Negatively Pressured Conex from a C-17 Globemaster III at Ramstein Air Base, June 24. The NPC provides greater capacity to move more patients than the existing Transportation Isolation System. Photo by Senior Airman Milton Hamilton

The NPC-L system was certified to be fully operational June 25.

Air Mobility Command and Air Force Materiel Command leaders joined forces early April to invite creative materiel and non-materiel solutions to address a Joint Urgent Operational Need to move large numbers of COVID-19 patients should the need for that capability arise.

A Negatively Pressurized Conex sits on a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Ramstein Air Base, June 24. The NPC will be fitted to fly on the C-17 and C-5 Galaxy aircraft, and can hold up to 28 passengers or 23 ambulatory patients. 
Photo by Senior Airman Milton Hamilton

“In less than 30 days, the NPC went from an idea on a napkin to a proven concept … and only 88 days from that idea to the delivery of an operational system,” said Lt. Col. Paul Hendrickson, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center CBRN Defense material leader. “This was made possible by a team comprised of the Air Force CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) Defense Systems Branch working with the Joint Program Executive Office for CBRN Defense and partnering with teams across the Air Force and Department of Defense.”   

After putting the proof of concept NPC system through rigorous testing that ran from 21-30 April the first NPC-L was delivered June 1, at Joint Base Charleston, followed by the first NPC on June 7, to begin testing and operational utility evaluation.

In-flight testing is conducted to certify a Negatively Pressurized Conex prototype at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., April 30. The NPC was rapidly developed and designed to fit inside both C-5 and C-17 aircraft to enable safe transport of up to 28 patients, as well as teams of medical professionals to medical facilities around the globe. Photo by Staff Sgt. Chris Drzazgowski

“Teams from across the country led by the Program Executive Office for Agile Combat Support (PEO ACS), gathered at Joint Base Charleston to assess the NPC and ensure it met four main requirements,” said Hendrickson. “The NPC must: one, be able to contain the virus from aircrew and the aircraft, two, be usable for aeromedical teams, three, have the potential to be certified airworthy and four, have the potential to be safe to fly. The NPC has proven capable of satisfying all of those requirements.”

A Negatively Pressurized Conex sits on a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Ramstein Air Base, June 24. The NPC is the latest isolated containment chamber developed to transport COVID-19 patients, replacing the existing Transport Isolation System.Photo by Senior Airman Milton Hamilton

When the COVID-19 outbreak began, the Air Force increased training on the Transport Isolation System, an isolation chamber developed during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, but never used in operations until April 10, when it transported COVID-positive patients from U.S. Central Command to Ramstein for medical treatment.

A Negatively Pressurized Conex sits on a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Ramstein Air Base, June 24. The NPC is the latest isolated containment chamber developed to transport COVID-19 patients, replacing the existing Transport Isolation System.Photo by Senior Airman Milton Hamilton

To date, the TIS has successfully transported more than 80 patients. However, it offers AMC and the Air Force limited capability, as each TIS can transport only two to four patients. The NPC will increase AMC’s capacity for patient transport, both now and in support of future requirements.

U.S. Air Force personnel assigned to the 721st Aerial Port Squadron load a Negatively Pressurized Conex onto a C-17 Globemaster III at Ramstein Air Base, June 24. The 721st APS Ramp Services ensure Ramstein’s airborne cargo and passengers arrive safely at their destination. Photo by Senior Airman Milton Hamilton

“The NPC is crucial to readiness as it not only protects our aircrews, aircraft, and aeromedical evacuation teams as they transport patients, but it also protects the readiness of the locations we will move patients from,” said Lt. Col. Timothy Mach, AMC Requirements Division chief. “We need to take care of the individual infected by the virus and mitigate the chance of it spreading. The NPC allows us to perform those life-saving movements in only hours.”

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