Fielded, tested, published.
Program milestones, qualification results and what we are learning from operators.
101st CAB pilots test AIRUS
The 101st Combat Aviation Brigade ran the first-ever helicopter test flights of AIRUS, checking fit, egress and in-flight use across Apache, Black Hawk and Chinook.
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AIRUS is back on the ISS
AIRUS returns to the International Space Station aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 — upgraded, optimized and redeployed on feedback from Crew-12.
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AIRUS expands beyond the Air Force
AIRUS expands beyond the U.S. Air Force as the bladder relief system moves into U.S. Marine Corps aviation.
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AIRUS in space: the in-flight relief system now flying on the ISS
AIRUS — the Advanced Inflight Relief Urination System — launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission and is in use aboard the International Space Station, the same cup-and-suction system qualified for fighter aircrew.
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AIRUS is working on a new helicopter system
AIRION is developing a new rotary-wing configuration of AIRUS for U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force helicopter aircrew.
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Flight qualification across the force
Environmental and flight testing with the 711th Human Performance Wing and partner units.
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Tactical dehydration is a readiness problem
For decades, military aviators have deliberately restricted water because bladder relief in the cockpit wasn’t good enough. As missions grow longer, that workaround is becoming a human-performance problem the military can no longer ignore.
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From concept to fielded capability in months
How additive manufacturing, in-house production, and direct operator feedback are compressing years of traditional development into months.
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US Air Force Created a New Way for Pilots to Pee in the Sky
Coverage of AIRUS moved from defense trade outlets into general-interest media in April 2025 — a sign the underlying readiness problem is no longer treated as niche.
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A new way to fly hydrated
AIRUS reached fielding in 2025 with seven interface shapes and an 1800 mL bag — the end of a design road that started by asking women what the problem actually was.
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Seymour Johnson runs the first ground test of AIRUS
The 4th Fighter Wing became the first unit to put AIRUS on aircrew and into the cockpit, opening a five-base ground evaluation of the system for female pilots.
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