Remotely fixing eyes, ears of Strike Eagles

Published Nov. 17, 2009
By Senior Airman Michael Matkin
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- In the early days of aviation, it was up to the pilots to watch for enemy aircraft and identify enemy ground forces. These days, electronic and communication systems, or avionics, assist pilots in identifying enemy targets and ground forces.

When the avionics on an F-15E Strike Eagle need to be repaired in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Airmen in the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron's avionics flight at this air base in Southwest Asia are here to do the job.

The 379th EMXS avionics flight comprises 16 Airmen currently deployed from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. They work to ensure the F-15Es downrange at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, have functioning radar, flight surface controls and airborne communications systems or avionics, instruments necessary for the aircrews to control and navigate aircraft, said Master Sgt. William Baron, 379th EMXS avionics flight chief.

Avionics units are line replaceable units, or LRUs, which are components of an aircraft that are designed to be replaced quickly on the flightline. LRUs speed up repair because the deffective ones can be removed from the aircraft and replaced quickly from inventory, returning the aircraft to mission capable status in minimum time.

Because avionics are line replaceable, maintaining them is considered off-equipment maintenance, which means avionics personnel do not work directly on the aircraft, said Tech. Sgt. Kevin Jolly, 379th EMXS avionics production supervisor. It is for this reason that avionics Airmen don't have to be downrange where the F-15Es are stationed. Bagram does not have the equipment nor does it have a large temperature-controlled building suitable for the avionics flight. So faulty avionics parts and components are shipped from there to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing and shipped back after they have been repaired.

The avionics shop includes three sections responsible for maintaining radar, display and navigation and electronic countermeasures systems.

"We perform intermediate and organizational maintenance activities. This includes troubleshooting, repairing, aligning, modifying and conducting operational checkouts of instrument and flight control systems. We also diagnose malfunctions using and interpreting logic circuits, signal flow, component schematics, technical orders and diagrams," Sergeant Jolly said. "Finally, we work to ensure that safety, quality and performance standards are followed and updated."

The maintenance activities on the avionics start when faulty parts are delivered to the avionics maintainers. Although some LRUs arrive with detailed descriptions of the equipment's problem, the majority of the items they receive are simply marked as inoperable, leaving it up to them to discover the problem, Sergeant Jolly said.

The first step in determining the problem and fixing the faulty parts is the visual inspection, Sergeant Baron said.

The LRU is inspected for broken pins and panels and anything else that can be detected with the human eye. The unit then is run through a test station for a complete diagnostic test to validate the reported discrepancy or any other malfunctions that it may have. After a problem is identified, the faulty pieces are removed and replaced. The amount of time it takes to fix each part varies, Sergeant Jolly said. The diagnostic computer may find the problem in as little as 10 to 15 minutes while in other cases it might take hours depending on how the testing progresses.

"The electronic systems test set tests LRUs for up to six hours," Sergeant Baron said. "The broken components are then removed, replaced and retested for another six hours. The component must have a completely perfect test before we can release it back to Bagram."

After the supply troops at Bagram receive the repaired parts, if they are not immediately needed, the LRUs are stored for future use.

Besides repairing and returning avionics to Bagram, the flight's unique equipment also has allowed the team to support various maintenance issues at this base, Sergeant Baron said. Recently, they repaired several electrical cable wiring harnesses for the 379th EMXS aerospace ground equipment flight's bomb loaders. These cables operate a remote control unit, which is used to load bombs onto a B-1B Lancer, and they built six of these cables between the months of September and November.

Helping other units on base as well as completing their primary mission of performing maintenance on the avionics units of Bagram's F-15Es is how the Airmen of the 379th EMXS avionics flight ensure they are in the fight as well as ensuring the Strike Eagle's continued success throughout the AOR.

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