January 30, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By JAMES BOLINGER | STARS AND STRIPES
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan — Using 3D printers, Marines based in southern Japan created two products that reduce the time it takes to repair F/A-18 Hornets and may save the Defense Department money.
Called an engine ship kit, the first innovation is a set of plastic clips and plugs to prevent oil and hydraulic fluid leaking from aircraft engines removed for repairs. The other is a tool that helps maintainers grease the bearings on the F/A-18's high-speed Gatling gun.
Designed by Marines from MCAS Iwakuni's Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12, the engine ship kit will have an immediate impact on operations, squadron commander Lt. Col. Javier Garcia recently told Stars and Stripes.
The kit eliminates the need for maintainers to travel to austere locations to drain oil and hydraulic fluids so an engine can be taken safely back to Iwakuni for repair.
The plastic drain plugs prevent the fluid from leaking and the clips ensure the plugs are not dislodged as the engine is readied for transport.
The kit is the brain child of 1st Lt. Simon Miller and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Mark Willems, who needed to get a broken F/A-18 engine from Wake Island to MCAS Iwakuni late last year.
The engine began to leak while a C-130 crew tried to load it, Garcia said. In the past, a team of maintenance Marines would have traveled to the location to prepare the engine for safe transport, but that takes away from their mission at MCAS Iwakuni.
To solve the problem, Willems had the idea of creating plugs that would stop the leaks. Miller created the pieces using 3D drafting software and MALS 12's new 3D printers.
“I'm not really sure why no one thought to make this kind of kit before, but this design is going to have an impact across the Navy and Marine Corps,” Garcia said.
The same team behind the engine ship kit also created a tool that makes it easier for maintenance Marines to grease the bearing on the F-18's M61A Vulcan, a Gatling-style rotary cannon that can fire 6,000 rounds a minute.
The bearing on the cannon must be packed with grease every 30,000 rounds, a job that used to take two Marines more than 30 minutes, said Cpl. Christian Smellie, an aviation life-support systems technician who works at Iwakuni's 3D printing lab.
Full article: https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/iwakuni-marines-use-3d-printers-to-revolutionize-maintenance-for-fighter-jets-1.566446
July 2, 2024 | International, Land
The contract with the Norwegian Defence Material Agency includes new multi-missile canister launchers and new Fire Distribution Centers for NASAMS, replacing equipment previously donated to Ukraine.
September 19, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Key Points The US Air Force will maintain its current F-35A buy as it starts to experiment with its new approach to acquisition, called the Digital Century Series The F-35A will be fielded through approximately 2040, so a retired pilot believes the USAF must act fast if it wants to avoid a gap between fighters The US Air Force (USAF) will maintain its Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme of record of 1,763 aircraft as it pursues its futuristic Digital Century Series (DCS) next-generation acquisition effort, according to the air force's acquisition boss. Will Roper, assistant secretary of the USAF for acquisition, technology, and logistics (AT&L), told reporters on 16 September that the DCS will be a software-focused approach to acquisition. It will enable the USAF to begin exploring what Roper calls the digital trinity of agile software development: agile software, open architecture (OA) systems, and digital engineering; and what it can provide the air force as it develops a futuristic and connected kill web. Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) will be one of the first USAF efforts to experiment with the DCS. The output of this effort, Roper said, will determine the acquisition strategy for NGAD and if it will fit with the funding profile that it has. The USAF requested USD1 billion in fiscal year 2020 (FY 2020) for NGAD, the concept the USAF is pursuing to prepare for warfare against near-peer nations such as China or Russia. Roper said he is going to announce a team on 1 October that will figure out how to run a programme based on those three attributes. He said it will be similar to how the USAF put together its Kessel Run software development hub. https://www.janes.com/article/91350/afa-2019-us-air-force-will-maintain-f-35-buy-as-it-pursues-digital-century-series?from_rss=1
April 14, 2020 | International, Naval
By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — The last of the U.S. Navy's eight Block III Virginia-class submarines has joined the fleet, according to a Navy news release. The attack submarine Delaware didn't have its formal commissioning ceremony because of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, but it will nonetheless start getting ready to enter the deployment rotation. The Block III replaced 12 vertical launch tubes for Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles with two larger 87-inch diameter tubes able to fire larger payloads, each housing six TLAMs. The first Block IV, the attack submarine Vermont, is slated to be commissioned later this month. The Block IV subs primarily add reliability features to the boat that should increase its life span. The Block V, which was awarded last year, adds acoustics upgrades. Eight of the boats will have the Virginia Payload Module. The VPM is designed to triple the Tomahawk cruise missile capacity of the Virginia-class subs, a move designed to offset the pending retirement of the Ohio-class guided-missile subs, which have a 154-Tomahawk capacity. Each Virginia Payload Module sub will have a 40-Tomahawk loadout. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/04/09/the-us-navy-commissions-the-last-block-iii-virginia-submarine/