Page 77 - Australian Defence Mag Sep 2020

SEPTEMBER 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
DEFENCE INDUSTRY 77
RUAG LEADS WITH AUSTRALIAN
JSF OFFICE FOR F-35 DEPOT
MAINTENANCE ACTIVATION PLAN
RUAG Australia joins together with the De- fence community to remain extremely mo- tivated by the ongoing delivery of the 5th Generation fighter aircraft - the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) – which commenced in December 2018. RUAG’s knowhow in the manufacture of hydraulic landing gear actuators, and ultra-high precision ma- chining, combined with their experienced team of engineers and 20+ year history as a Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul & Up- grade (MRO&U) provider to Defence, is a credible formula for success which they are applying to our new platforms and req- uisite processes.
The F-35 aircraft and its systems and components represent the dedicated engagement of an integrated and holis- tic global supply chain. Driven by the F-35 global program and the needs of its international partners, including Australia, the F-35 Joint Program Of- fice (JPO) is establishing a network of MRO&U depots. These MRO&U depots deliver proven capabilities for effective worldwide support for maintaining the F-35 platform at the required fleet read- iness levels.
This JPO concept and its model for sup- port throughout the platform’s entire life cycle is radically different to earlier ap- proaches and sees the F-35 managed in combination with JPO and the Prime Sys- tems Integrator (PSI).
RUAG Australia has been assigned over 220 components across five Repair Tech- nology Groups (RTGs) for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. Importantly, RUAG is also the first company in Australia to imple- ment and go through the Depot Mainte- nance Activation Plan (DMAP) process. They have achieved this together with the Australian JSF office who is set to recom- mend RUAG’s DMAP for approval.
RUAG Australia’s assignments cover the following RTG Groups for APAC:
Tier 1: Major subsystems
• Wheels and Brakes
• Aux Power (PTMS)
• Refuelling valve, air-to-air refuelling valve
ABOVE: RUAG Australia is playing an important role in F35 sustainment.
• Components including fuel metering pump, hydraulic, pneumatic, pneudrau- lic, hydro-mechanical flight controls, internal pumps
• Landing gear
Tier 2: Component Repair Technology Groups
• RTG F – Valves (30 p/n)
• RTG G – Auxiliary Power (20 p/n)
• RTG H – Hydraulic (106 p/n)
• RTG L – Landing Gear (34 p/n)
• RTG P – Pumps (2 p/n)
Within the JPO processes, RUAG Aus-
tralia, as an assigned Product Support Provider (PSP) is set to provide depot level MRO&U services and is, at the same time, subject to operations oversight from the Global Support System (GSS). This in- cludes an additional layer of responsibility, as the GSS stipulates that each item, when removed from an F-35 aircraft, implicitly becomes property of the US Government.
RUAG