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Aircraft Battle Damage Repair and Contingency Maintenance in the Aviation World Picture this, you and nine other Aviation Technician (AT) maintainers are posted to an FFG S-70B-2 Seahawk Flight during a declared contingency. Far from home and any hope of Deeper Level Maintenance (DLM) support, you have, through necessity, become a fairly self-sufficient team. By day five of the operation, the aircraft is averaging eight flying hours a day and is considered an important force multiplier for the ship’s involvement in the operation. The aircraft is also heavily involved in up lifting stores and troops in support of allied operations. Your team is working hard to keep the aircraft available by undertaking scheduled maintenance tasks between each sortie, where possible. It’s just before lunch and the team, who have been working hard since before sunrise, are savouring the thought of a well-cooked steak. Suddenly, the Helicopter Control Officer (HCO) reports that the aircraft has declared a PAN and is returning to the ship immediately. The pilot has reported taking ground fire and the aircraft has fluctuating hydraulic pressure. The aircraft returns on deck without further incident and a cursory glance reveals evidence of gunshot damage to the STBD transition section, hydraulic fluid is evident down the side of the cab. The OOW phones the hangar, the ship’s CO wants an immediate report, and expects his aircraft back in the air before he finishes lunch. All hope of a well-cooked steak vanishes from their minds as the team start dragging the aircraft's Structural Repair Manual (SRM) out of the correctly secured-for-sea bookshelf and the Flight Senior Maintenance Sailor (FSMS) starts the Hostile Action Report (HAR). An unlikely scenario? Not really. A realistic timeframe? Now that depends. As the world stage continues to change shape, the above scenario is more likely to become a reality. Therefore, with a slight shift in focus the RAN Aviation Branch is endeavouring to better prepare its technical sailors for just such a situation. Accordingly, armed with newly acquired Aircraft Battle Damage Repair (ABDR) techniques, finely honed Sheet Metal Repair (SMR) skills, appropriate tooling and the right attitude, AT sailors are becoming increasingly prepared, and expected, to ‘do the job’ themselves. NAVY ENGINEERING BULLETIN SEPTEMBER 2003 The recent Gulf Conflict saw a contingency declared for the first time since 1990 and as a result, RAN aircraft operating in the AO were able to adopt Contingency Maintenance (CMAINT) policies. CMAINT prioritises aircraft operational availability over the longer-term preservation of material condition, or economic considerations, and is intended to reduce maintenance downtimes without reducing safety - a ‘force-multiplier effect’. ABDR is normally a subset of CMAINT that utilises modified or unconventional rapid repair techniques to maximise aircraft availability without significantly compromising airworthiness. Historically, a greater number of BY LEUT NATASHA TINDAL, FLEET AVIATION ENGINEERING SUPPORT OFFICER 63
64 NAVY ENGINEERING BULLETIN SEPTEMBER 2003 aircraft are damaged during combat than lost completely. Through the application of rapid repair techniques, ABDR can return a damaged aircraft to service in the shortest possible time frame, whether the aircraft has been rendered unserviceable due to structural or system damage. ABDR employs locally designed, authorised and applied repairs utilising non-standard materials, tools and equipment in order to minimise aircraft downtime. ABDR is not an acceptable peacetime maintenance action, but can be used under certain circumstances to quickly repair a damaged aircraft so it can be flown out of further harms way. Implementing CMAINT and ABDR is a prerogative of the operational commander when contingencies are declared or warlike situations encountered. A potential downside for implementing CMAINT or ABDR is that the aircraft must be able to be returned to peacetime standards if required, once the contingency is over. Where CMAINT conditions have been implemented over a protracted period or the aircraft has undertaken a significant workload under such conditions, a considerable maintenance effort may be needed to properly complete any structural repairs and re-establish scheduled maintenance programs. So why has the RAN Aviation community suddenly started focusing on ABDR, and how does it impact our preparedness for combat? In early 2002 two separate aircraft structural repair instances highlighted a deficiency in the airframe repair capability of RAN ships’ Flights. Both instances were satisfactorily resolved by the Fleet Air Arm’s Mobile Aircraft Support Team (MAST), but arguably should have fallen within the capabilities of the ships’ Flights. Investigations revealed that both Flights lacked the required proficiency, confidence, and in some instances tooling and consumables to conduct the necessary repairs. This situation presented a significant capability risk. Central to this situation was an historical reliance to call on contractor assistance almost every time a complex airframe structural repair was required to be expediently completed at NAS Nowra. This practice had resulted in a subsequent 'deskilling' of the AT workforce. To rectify this situation, staff within the Fleet Aviation Engineering Unit (FAEU) set about assessing the existing level of tooling, material and AT sheetmetal repair skills in the embarked environment, and then compared the existing capability to what is required of an embarked ABDR/SMR baseline capability. The overall intention of the review was to ensure ships Flights were able to carry out, as a minimum, repairs detailed in the aircraft specific Structural Repair Manuals. Training and competency in the concept of ABDR, although not an initial focus, was also an objective. So where to begin? As with any situation, the ability to operate safely outside specified standard procedures requires a thorough understanding of, and ability to correctly carry out, those procedures. Therefore, in order to carry out CMAINT and ABDR procedures personnel must first have an in-depth understanding of electrical and structural repairs carried out with all the necessary resources and in accordance with approved standard procedures. FAEU Staff, in conjunction with ABDR is not an acceptable peacetime maintenance action, but can be used under certain circumstances to quickly repair a damaged aircraft so it can be flown out of further harms way. Training Authority - Aviation (TA- AVN) and the ABDR School at RAAF Williamtown, devised a method for evaluating a Flights’ structural repair capability, including their understanding of existing procedures. The evaluation employed the use of a 'repair simulator' that replicated a section of an aircraft's structure, incorporating skin, frames, stringers, hydraulic lines and electrical looms. The simulators were employed during a ship’s Work-up and Unit Readiness Evaluation (URE) and were predamaged to reflect varying degrees of ‘battle damage’ expected to be sustained during a contingency scenario. The simulators were required to be repaired by the ship's Flight within a specified time frame, with technical personnel ‘thinking outside the box’ where necessary. The repair capability deficiencies identified by the exercises provided a clear indication of where efforts should be expended in order to improve a Flights’ repair capabilities. Typical examples of the simulators and damage are shown in figures 1to4.
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