Page 3 - Aerotech News and Review, Feb 1, 2019 - Mission Update Edition

The KC-46: Making history today at Edwards
by Brig. Gen. E. John Teichert
412th Test Wing commander
Fielding began recently on Amer- ica’s newest air refueling tanker air- craft — the KC-46 Pegasus.
Operationalizing a new military aircraft does not happen often, but when it does, it typically goes through Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., — The Center of the Aerospace Testing Universe. Regardless of whether it is a frequent or a rare occurrence, hitting a milestone like this should be a huge source of pride for our entire team.
Fielding the KC-46 provides a mas- sive boost to our nation’s war fighting capabilities in a world characterized by competition from near-peer adver- saries. We would not have reached this point without the amazing accom- plishments of Team Edwards and the 412th Test Wing.
The KC-46 is not perfect. Yet, stra- tegic leaders at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Pentagon would not have been in a position to field it now without the knowledge we provided to them to understand and mitigate problems. It was our team who discovered faults. It was our team who raised concerns. It was our team who collaborated with the con- tractors, the program office, and the end-users to fix shortcomings.
The warfighter deserves the best capability possible. As such, we will continue to be intimately involved in molding and shaping this new air-
craft into a fully-effective and suit- able warfighting machine. Along with our operational test, program office, and contractor partners, it will be our team who verifies fixes. It will be our team who ensures that requirements are met. It will be our team who re- fines the capability into the needs of the warfighter. It will be our team who completes the certifications to refuel the entire range of U.S. and ally military receivers. It will be our team who helps create the roadmap for next-generation refueling capa- bilities beyond those currently on the drawing board.
Of course, it was the Global Reach Combined Test Force and the 418th Flight Test Squadron who played the most significant role in this massive accomplishment. Operations, main- tenance, engineering, and program management were at the forefront of this substantial test and evaluation ef- fort. Yet, we should never lose sight of the fact that our entire team played a critical role. It required the efforts of defenders, logisticians, strategic planners, medics, firefighters, trainers, inspectors, and educators. It required expertise in communications, contin- gencies, finance, safety, intelligence, facilities, civil engineering, services, security, and personnel. It required those who create a safe environment, a positive climate, and a trained workforce. Ultimately, it required a complete focus on shaping Amer- ica’s arsenal as we strive together
Air Force photograph by Christopher Okula
Boeing’s KC-46 aerial refueling tanker conducts receiver compatibility tests with a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., in 2016.
for the war fighter.
The KC-46 will not be the last
aircraft whose fielding path comes through our organization, as the U.S. military’s next trainer and next bomb- er are already on the books to perform
the bulk of their testing here. When the time comes for the test and evalu- ation of America’s next remotely pi- loted aircraft and newest fighter, they will likely arrive on our doorstep as well. It is because the world knows
that this is The Center of the Aero- space Testing Universe and that our team is comprised of reliable experts and focused professionals who pro- vide world-class test and evaluation for the war fighter.
Test team verifies procedures to recover downed F-35
F-35 Joint-Service Technical Order Development, Edwards Verification Site lead. “For example, if the right main landing gear is collapsed, there are procedures using any of the above items to lift the disabled side.”
Miller said the 412th MXS is responsible for local crash recovery response and are the subject matter experts for all things CDDAR. At the veri- fication event, there were also members from the 412th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron who assisted in aircraft access, cover removal and aircraft prepa- ration before and after the event.
Miller added his and the 412th Logistics Test Squadron’s F-35 responsibility is performing oversite of all things verification for any mainte- nance procedures performed on the fifth-generation fighter. Lockheed Martin sent an engineer and the
crash recovery procedures author from Fort Worth, Texas, to the event.
“These are procedures we have in the F-35 operating community we hope are never used,” Miller said. “However, in the event of an incident, the CDDAR team needs well vetted and tested procedures in order to recover the aircraft. If the aircraft is still on the runway, it may become time sensitive to remove the aircraft. There are so many variables and there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ when it comes to recovering a disabled aircraft.”
Miller concluded the F-35 technical order veri- fication team works with all variants of the F-35 and the CDDAR procedures will be adapted to a great extent for the use on ships for the Marine and Navy versions now being developed.
Air Force photograph by Kenji Thuloweit
Members of the 412th Maintenance Squadron attach an aircraft sling that connects to a crane to verify this method of recovering a crashed or disabled F-35 Lightning II during a two-day recovery procedures verification event Dec. 12, 2018.
Airbags placed underneath an F-35 wing is
one of the methods a test team verified to recover a crashed or disabled F-35 Dec. 12, 2018.
Even the most advanced aircraft in the world may not always have a successful landing. Or, it can just simply get stuck somewhere.
That’s why a team of testers at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., linked up with representatives from Lockheed Martin to go over crash recovery procedures for the F-35 Lightning II recently.
The two-day event was to verify measures on the aircraft for what is referred to as crash, damage, disabled aircraft recovery, or CDDAR.
February 1, 2019
Members from the 412th Maintenance Squad- ron performed the actual procedures on the aircraft. Different methods were verified such as using an aircraft sling attached to the F-35 to be lifted by a crane; “belly bands” that can be placed under- neath the jet and attached to a crane; and inflatable airbags or lifting bags that can be used to raise a crashed or disabled F-35.
“Each item used can be tailored to the incident,” said Robert Miller, 412th Logistics Test Squadron,
Courtesy photograph
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