Justin Smoak, Samson Rope application engineering manager,

Justin Smoak, Samson Rope application engineering manager, Ferndale, Wash., right, shows Roberto Guerrero, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Operational Energy, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., left, and Ed Clark, AFRL aircraft programs support contractor with Concurrent Technologies Corporation, Johnstown, Pa., the weaving of the synthetic winch cable, Sept. 6, 2017, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. The proposed 280-foot synthetic winch cable weighs 14 pounds and is 83 percent lighter than the current 80 pound steel wire cable. (U.S. Air Force photo by Roland Balik)