AIRUS device solves mid-flight bathroom dilemma
For decades, fighter pilots—especially women—have faced an unpleasant reality: use the decades-old “piddle packs” (little vinyl bags pressed firmly against themselves while remaining perfectly still), hold it for entire flights, or risk dangerous dehydration by drinking minimal water before missions.
A 2023 survey of Navy flyers found that nearly 93% of female pilots and aircrew stationed in California, Japan, and Spain admitted they would “tactically dehydrate” to avoid having to urinate in the cockpit, sometimes avoiding water on flights as long as eight hours. This dangerous practice can reduce G-tolerance by up to 50%, leading to G-induced loss of consciousness, reduced physical and cognitive abilities, headaches, and altered vision—all dangerous conditions for pilots operating multi-billion dollar aircraft at high speeds.
“There’s nothing tactical about ‘tactical dehydration,’ but that’s what we were doing,” said Shelley Mendieta, a retired colonel and weapons system officer for the F-15E.
A revolutionary solution
A new device, dubbed the Advanced Inflight Relief Universal System (AIRUS), developed through an Air Force innovation incubator program, may finally solve this persistent problem.
“I’ve had days before where I’ve gotten to the end of the runway and been like, ‘Oh man, I already have to pee. This is going to be a really, really painful day,'” a lieutenant colonel said on condition of anonymity. “There are a couple times that I’ve gotten on the ground, and I’m just like, ‘I really hope nothing is wrong with my airplane, and nobody needs to talk to me about troubleshooting anything because I’m going to pee my pants.'”
Think of AIRUS as high-tech astronaut underwear with various pumps and tubes that allow pilots to urinate comfortably during flight. The system comes with multiple cup options to accommodate different body types—five different cups for women and two sizes for men—attached to a pump and collection bag that can hold up to 1,800 milliliters of urine (approximately 7½ cups), enough for four to seven urinations during a mission.
Breaking the mold
Unlike most military equipment historically designed for men first and awkwardly retrofitted for women, AIRUS took the opposite approach.
“It’s kind of reversed to what typical designing the military is. It’s usually designed for males, and then, ‘hey, yeah, we’ll make it for a female.’ This was a total opposite approach,” said Colt Seman, founder of Airion, the company behind the device. “We designed it for the females, and now the males are asking for it.”
The device has undergone successful testing with pilots flying F-16, F-15, A-10, and F-35 aircraft. Kayla McCabe, a female fitment coordinator at Air Combat Command’s Aircrew Performance Branch, confirmed that it “did not hinder movements” while pilots were performing “critical flight maneuvers” such as close air support and defensive counterattacks.
A long time coming
Tracy LaTourrette, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who flew F-16s in Iraq, described how the fighter jet’s reclined seat position made urination particularly challenging.
“It’s super comfortable. It’s great for pulling G’s, but you think about the fact that your hips are lowered, that your knees are elevated, it puts your body not in the most advantageous position for taking care of personal business,” LaTourrette said.
Previous solutions were problematic. Dr. Necia Pope, a retired Air Force colonel and urologist, explained that traditional “piddle-packs” required women to get undressed and even stand up to use them. Later devices with pumps were often ineffective because “the pump speed wasn’t fast enough so the female flow rate would overwhelm the pump and they would leak all over themselves.”
The AIRUS device began as a proposal for the 2020 Sky High Relief Challenge sponsored by AFWERX, the Air Force Research Laboratory’s innovation incubator. In 2022, AFWERX awarded a contract to Airion to develop the design, with the device officially launching in January 2025.
“It was really a surprise how excited they were. I mean, we’re talking about just peeing right, which is something that we all do,” said Jennifer West, a former Air Force nurse and medical advisor for Airion. “That was kind of really an ‘Aha’ moment.”
New pilots arriving for Air Force flight training will receive the devices first, with operational units phasing them in gradually. As the military technology potentially trickles down to the private sector, there could be numerous civilian applications for the AIRUS system in various industries where bathroom breaks are limited or challenging.
“This is the most positive I’ve seen this conversation in 25 years,” Mendieta said, referring to the progress in addressing this long-standing issue for military pilots.