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AIR FORCE WORKING TO REMOVE CORROSION FROM F-22A FIGHTER JETS
Wonderful...
Inside the Air Force Wing mods also under way AIR FORCE WORKING TO REMOVE CORROSION FROM F-22A FIGHTER JETS September 7, 2007 HILL AIR FORCE BASE, UT -- The Air Force is quickly working to remove recently discovered corrosion on its fifth-generation F-22A fighter fleet, maintenance officials tell Inside the Air Force. Raptors are currently going through an evaluation phase of a repair program, dubbed the "corrosion speed line," Mike Dooner, the aircraft production chief, said during a Sept. 5 interview at the repair shop here. "We're just cleaning it up," Dooner said. Maintainers are "going to be putting different type panels on" the Raptors in the next couple of months as well. Classification issues prevented the officials from disclosing the areas of the corrosion, the number of aircraft impacted, the number of jets being worked on and the price tag on the modifications. Maintainers -- who include industry partners from Lockheed Martin -- also are performing "techniques" that extend the service life of the advanced fighter's wing-lugs and attach fittings, Dooner said. Later model aircraft coming off the production line will already be upgraded. The upgrade takes roughly 43 days to complete. The second part of the Raptor's structural repair phase includes a hardware installation and more structural work on the aft of the jet, he said. Right now, Raptors are receiving these modifications at Hill, while others are undergoing the corrosion upgrade and receiving the wing upgrade, Ned King, F-22A squadron operations officer, said in the same interview. Corrosion affected jets have already gone through the shop and the wing modification, Dooner said. Those aircraft were all delivered on time, King noted. Technicians also are in the process of completing a "night air-to-air refueling" modification in which replacement lights are installed on top of the aircraft, Dooner said. It takes maintainers about 30 days to complete this upgrade. The upgrade gives the pilot better visibility when connecting to a refueling tanker, he said. This program began 18 months earlier than expected due to an urgent need request, King said. In addition to Hill, F-22A modifications are being conducted at Tyndall Air Force Base, FL, and a Lockheed Martin facility in Palmdale, CA. Hill's modification shop will soon be getting a structural upgrade of its own. Officials are soliciting contractors to build a new facility across from where the current hanger is located, King said. Congress allotted $26 million in the fiscal year 2007 Military Construction Appropriations Act for the project, according to a Senate report on the legislation. |
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