Clouding The Issue of Stealth Aircraft Supportability

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FEATURE
Date Posted: 01-Oct-1998

International Defense Review
CLOUDING THE ISSUE OF STEALTH

AIRCRAFT SUPPORTABILITY
Ignorance, bias and lack of hard information have bred confusion about many aspects of low
observables (LO) or stealth technology, and the nature and amount of special maintenance that
LO aircraft need is no exception. Media accounts of the US General Accounting Office (GAO)
reports on the B2 have created the impression that the bomber is a temperamental beast,
skulking in its hangar, and unable to perform operational missions unless its vast acreage of
composite skin is free from any flaw. Despite this exaggeration, the US Air Force (USAF) Air
Combat Command (ACC)told the GAO last year that LO maintenance was its "numberone
supportability issue." The maintenance of stealthy aircraft poses some important challenges.
However, IDR's investigation of the state of the art suggests that the problem has been
acknowledged, and is being addressed by modifications to inservice aircraft and new approaches
to the design of the F22 and Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). A stealthy aircraft relies for its survival on
its low radarcrosssection (RCS), but RCS differs from other vital qualities (such as speed or
range) in that it may be severely compromised by defects that are very small or even invisible. In
early tests of the Lockheed Have Blue prototype, researchers found that the aircraft would show
up on radar if landing gear doors were gapping, or if fasteners holding down access panels were
not fully tightened. Even if the surface is visibly perfect, electromagnetic discontinuities on the skin
could disturb surface currents and generate unpredictable RCS glints. The challenge is
compounded because there has not existed, until recently, a way to measure the RCS of an
aircraft in service. In the early days of stealth, the only RCS measurement tool available was an
outdoor RCS range, which was limited to model testing. Groundtoair and airtoair measurement
tools were developed in the 1980s, but the task of covering all the significant aspect angles and
frequencies was too complex to be implemented at an operational level. Close to perfection The
original solution to this problem was to develop basic designs and radarabsorbent material (RAM)
which will perform properly as long as there is no degradation which can be detected by an
external inspection of the aircraft. During development, the designers defined the minimum
tolerable deficiencies in the LO surfaces and materials, and maintainers developed procedures to
find and repair any damage that is found. The standard is close to perfection, and the inspection
and repair procedures were timeconsuming. The Lockheed Martin F117 pioneered this approach.
To reduce RCS and to help ensure that the external surface would remain free from
electromagnetic disconnects, the F117 was entirely covered with RAM. In early aircraft, this took
the form of a flexible material (resembling linoleum floor covering in texture and thickness), which
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comprised carbonyl iron particles in a dielectric polymer binder. The RAM (900kg of it) was cut to
shape and glued to the F117's skin. It was recognized early in the Have Blue program that doors
and access panels were a problem. Weapon bays and landing gear doors, which had to be opened
in flight, required complex seals, positive locks and serrated edges, and any access panel was a
potential RCS hot spot. The only solution, at the time, was to minimize the number of quickaccess
panels, using them only for systems which had to be checked routinely before every flight.
Otherwise, the skin is sealed with RAM. To reach most of the avionics, for example, the RAM
covering the facet where the panel is located has to be scraped off and replaced, a process which
takes up to two hours. The 59 production F117s were delivered in several different
configurations, with slightly different types of RAM. The largest change was a switch from a sheet
material (described above) to a sprayedon RAM, which offered similar performance but was less
expensive to apply. However, all repairs are made with sheet material, so each F117 has a
different patchwork of original, sprayed, and repair material on its surface. The other major
stealthrelated maintenance item on the F117 is the exhaust system, which has been problematic
since the start of the program and has been under almost continuous development. The exhaust
is a metallic structure, covered with nonloadbearing ceramic 'bricks' made of a material similar to
the quartz tiles used on the exterior of the Space Shuttle. In the original design, the bricks were
cemented in place individually, and the seams between them had to be filled with a heatresistant
puttylike material. If the gaps were not properly sealed, hot air could impinge on the metal
substructure and cause a fire. Scheduled exhaust maintenance could take 600 man hours, spread
over 14 days. Overall, the F117 is still a highmaintenance aircraft. Early in the program, a 'good'
month saw the fleet averaging more than 100 maintenance man hours per flight hour (MMH/FH).
On almost nine sorties out of 10, the aircraft returned requiring significant maintenance to its LO
systems. With intensive work and some aircraft modifications, this figure improved to 45 MMH/FH
by 1989, but has been relatively stable since then. LO features directly accounted for 10% of this
total, but that number does not wholly account for the impact of LO on the overall design. Many
of these problems are being addressed under the Single Configuration Fleet (SCF) program, which
is being implemented at the same time as the F117 MidLife Update effort, known as Block Cycle
1. Engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) of the Block Cycle 1 improvements started
in December 1996. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor, Hamilton Standard is providing the
1760A databus allowing the aircraft to carry the Boeing GBU30 Joint Direct Attack Munition
and, at the same time, Raytheon is updating the video tracker in the infrared acquisition and
designation system (IRADS). Tests will be completed at the end of 2000, and both the Block Cycle
1 and SCF modifications will be implemented over the following four years as F117s undergo
routine depot maintenance. Under the SCF, the RAM will be removed from all aircraft. Next, a
number of new quickaccess panels will be added, providing easier access to avionics and other
frequently serviced components. The RAM will be replaced by a new sprayedon coating. This will
be more weatherresistant than the sheet RAM, which tends to bubble under intense sunlight. The
edges of the access panels will be covered by 'zip strips': specially developed strips of RAM which
can be quickly pulled off the aircraft while leaving the rest of the surface untouched. When the
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panel is replaced, new zip strips can be installed to fill the gap. The USAF is also looking for a
handheld or robotic spraying tool for making small RAM repairs on the flightline. Cutting stealth
work in half The original exhaust systems have now been replaced by an improved design, using a
more durable material and interlocking tiles, which require much less sealing. Overall, according to
Lockheed Martin tactical programs chief Paul Martin, the goal is to reduce stealthrelated
maintenance costs by 50%. Another element in improving F117 maintainability is the Diagnostic
Imaging Radar System (DIRS), developed by System Planning Corporation (SPC). SPC's Radar &
Measurement Sciences Group has been the principal supplier of RCS measurement radars since
the early days of stealth, and has supplied the radar and dataprocessing systems for the USAF's
giant RAMS range at Holloman AFB and many company ranges. The DIRS comprises an imaging
radar mounted on circular tracks that encircle the aircraft, so that it can image it from the most
critical angles, measure its RCS and detect, locate and measure flaws. The system is designed to
be portable. The first of two DIRS was delivered late last year. The USAF has evaluated various
handheld diagnostic devices, but has not yet found one that meets all its needs. DIRS is
considered to be a precursor of a program called Common LO Verification Systems (CLOVRS),
which includes point tools and 'nearfield' inspection tools (such as DIRS). A request for proposals
(RFP) should be issued imminently, and CLOVRS systems could be delivered in 200001. It seems
that the USAF is reliving some aspects of the F117 experience on the Northrop Grumman B2.
Like its predecessor, the B2 is requiring a significant measure of maintenance in its early years,
and is undergoing a series of modifications which are intended to reduce the maintenance burden.
F117 experience was not very helpful to the B2 program, for two reasons: the B2 was being
designed while the F117 was still just entering service, and the B2 uses a rather different
approach to stealth design. Instead of covering the entire aircraft with thick RAM, the designers
created a shape with a single continuous edge line and two surfaces, upper and lower, which were
free of steep slopes or sharp curves. Because these surfaces had an inherently low RCS, they
would need only a paintlike RAM coating to absorb surface currents. The disadvantage of this
philosophy is that, as surface slopes become shallower and the 'grazing angle' diminishes between
the radar wave and the surface, the impact of small discontinuities and gaps on RCS becomes
greater. In a large aircraft, too, significant flexing and bending is unavoidable, and causes each
skin panel to move relative to its neighbors in ways which are virtually impossible to predict. While
the B2 represented a technological advance over the F117 in terms of combining LO with
aerodynamic efficiency, it was similar in that LO was given higher priority than maintainability. The
B2 was also designed for nuclear strike, so the force would be divided at any time between alert
aircraft in full LO trim, but not flying and aircraft on training missions. It did not matter too
much if the LO treatment would need extensive work after one or two sorties, because the alert
aircraft would not fly more than two. Most of the B2 surface has not been a problem, according
to Col William Armstrong, chief of the fighter/bomber maintenance division at ACC headquarters.
However, some of the original materials used to seal joints and gaps were selected for their LO
performance with little attention to other qualities. Some of them, particularly the caulk and tape
materials used to fill joint lines and seal access panels, "were toxic or hazardous," says Armstrong.
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"They had short lives and long cure times, measured in days or weeks." Sealants were subject to
cracking, peeling and loss of adhesion caused by air loads, rain and structural distortion. Some
materials were applied in as many as five layers "and if the fourth layer did not cure properly, you
had to remove everything and start from scratch." In other cases, long seams had to be filled in
sections, with substantial cure times between each section. One caulking material would take 35
days to cure at normal temperatures. It would cure in 72h if heated, but only 3ft of caulk could be
cured at a time. Many of the materials would not cure properly outside a controlled environment,
avoiding extremes of temperature or humidity. The 1997 GAO report focused on these problems,
and on the fact that they prevented the USAF from deploying the B2 outside the US because the
aircraft needed frequent repairs in airconditioned shelters. The report did not highlight the fact
that its data predominantly addressed the original Block 10 configuration. Even the June 1998
GAO report on the B2 is based on a November 1997 operational testing report, which in turn
draws almost exclusively on experience with the interim Block 20. The definitive Block 30 variant,
which is due to be declared operational next year, is a major upgrade, featuring a significant
evolutionary change in materials. The Block 30 modification includes the removal and replacement
of all the aircraft's edges, including the leading edges and control surfaces, in order to meet RCS
requirements. The leading edges, visibly segmented on the Block 20, are joined into an electrically
continuous structure. Aircraft delivered prior to AV1014 receive a new 'aft deck' structure, to
correct cracking and other problems with the hightemperature zone behind the engines.
Depainting the B2 All the surface coatings on the B2, including absorbent and conductive layers,
are removed and replaced with improved materials during the Block 30 upgrade. After having a
great deal of difficulty in finding an environmentally safe stripping medium that would remove the
coatings without damaging the composite skins, Northrop Grumman developed a technique to
'depaint' the B2 using crystallized wheat starch and highpressure air. Some of the most awkward
materials have been almost completely eliminated. The Block 10/20 used "several thousand feet"
of the 72h, heatcured caulk mentioned above to seal panel lines. On the Block 30, only 60ft of
the material are left, most of it replaced by a new thintape material. Cure times on other
materials have been reduced "from days to hours," says Armstrong. The latest GAO report notes
that, in themselves, the Block 30 changes will not allow the B2 to achieve the 77% mission
capable rate (MCR) specified in the Operational Requirements Document (ORD). This is correct,
says Armstrong, but the MCR is limited by a number of factors, of which maintenance of the LO
system is just one. The USAF is planning to invest in improvements to bring the B2 up to its
specified reliability in the early 2000s. LO maintenance accounts for 40% of the unscheduled
maintenance on the B2, and 31% of its total maintenance. Currently, with the Block 20 in the
process of being superseded by the Block 30 as the principal operational variants, the fleet is
running between 70 and 100 MMH/FH. The USAF's goal for the B2 was 50 MMH/FH. Recently,
Congress has authorized the release of US$54 million in Fiscal Year 1998. The money will be used
to start a set of initiatives which, Armstrong believes, will put the B2 MMH/FH "in the lowto mid
40s." It should be noted at this point that a 50 MMH/FH figure for the B2 is quite attractive to the
operator, given that the bomber's offensive warload is up to 10 times larger than that of the
average fighter. A fighter would have to achieve five to six MMH/FH to put as many weapons on
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target for the same maintenance burden. Several main improvements are planned. One is the use
of 'alternate highfrequency [HF] materials' for access panels which are used often. Some access
panels on the B2, which are opened as often as once per mission, must be caulked or taped and
then covered with a top coat to preserve the integrity of the LO system. The USAF plans to coat
the panels and surrounding areas with a new magnetictype RAM (that is, one in which the
absorber is magnetic rather than dielectric) which is tolerant of small gaps, eliminating the need to
seal the panels. Drain gain The new HF material will also be used around drain ports in the lower
surface. The B2 was designed with 'pushdrain' apertures which are closed in flight to maintain
stealth, and can be opened on the ground to release water and other fluids. However, the pooling
and freezing of water inside the aircraft has caused problems. With the new material, drain holes
can be left open. The B2 will receive an advanced top coat the paintlike coating that covers
most of the surface. It will be more flexible than today's topcoat material, which has tended to
crack at stress points, and will be more durable, lasting for 10 years before it is removed and
replaced. Finally, like the F117, the B2 will make use of new heatresistant tiles in the exhaust
area. Overall, the USAF aims to reduce the number of different types of materials on the B2,
particularly those that are difficult to apply, hazardous to handle, and which have a limited shelf
life. The USAF plans to flighttest these improvements in 2000, as the last Block 30s are delivered,
and to incorporate them as the B2s return to the factory for scheduled depot maintenance. The
exception is one access panel at the junction of the enginebay and tailpipe access doors, which is
apparently troublesome and will be recoated with the new HF magnetic RAM before the rest of
the aircraft. Northrop Grumman has acquired three SPC Mk V radar systems to perform
'productionpoint inspection' on the Block 30s as they leave the assembly line. "Now, when we
build a B2 and take it to the range and test it, it passes on the first try," Military Aircraft Systems
Division vicepresident Bill Lawler comments. The USAF is making some use of these radars. The
contractor has also developed a handheld pointinspection device, which is being used by its
personnel working at Whiteman AFB. Eventually, the USAF plans to use CLOVRS for largescale in
service RCS measurements on the B2, combined with a suite of handheld pointinspection tools
for individual repairs. Some LO restoration materials will continue to demand an environment with
controlled humidity and temperature. By the end of this year, the USAF expects to have ordered
an operational prototype of a transportable, airconditioned hangar for the B2. If it is successful,
the USAF will acquire more of them and position them at likely forwardoperating locations. A
number of LO maintenance lessons emerged when two B2 Block 30 aircraft were deployed to
Andersen AFB, Guam, in late March and early April. One was a need to reduce the bomber's
logistics 'footprint' the two bombers did not pack light for the trip, being attended by 170 tonnes
of equipment and 197 people. The same concern applies to expeditionary use of the B1 and B52,
and could be alleviated by better planning, leaner staffing, and prepositioning of heavy
equipment. The exercise "did not look at full LO maintenance," says Armstrong. Rather, the USAF
was interested in how well the LO systems would survive without major restoration work, and the
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aircraft were tested before and after deployment. Some LO restoration was done in the open air,
and "some of the materials liked the climate," according to Armstrong. Overall, "we did not see a
lot of degradation". A significant discovery was that "we don't have to be as intensive in the way
we restore the aircraft. Small defects can be allowed to accumulate, and they don't have a big
signature effect." On the other hand, lacking flightline LO diagnostic tools, "we don't know how
far we can allow it to go." In the long term, it has been suggested, flightline diagnostic systems
could generate a map of LO hotspots that could be read by the missionplanning system.
Currently, LO mission planners assume that the aircraft is maintained to its design specifications
but this may not be necessary, depending on the location of the target and the nature of the
threat. The USAF's Common LO AutoRouter (CLOAR), an enhancement to the standard AF
Mission Support System, could interface with CLOVRS, so that the crew would be able to plan
routes that would mask deficiencies from the most dangerous threats. Lessons from the F117 and
B2 programs are being methodically applied to the USAF's newest LO design, the F22. The new
fighter has been designed to set new standards in stealth maintainability, program officials tell
IDR. The key issue, according to John Ogg, chief engineer at the USAF's F22 program office, was
to minimize the need to "break the low observable bubble" that is, to minimize the number of
maintenance actions that involve 'postremoval restoration' of LO coatings or seals. The first step
logical, but not intuitive is to work harder to ensure that components are reliable, "so that there
is a less frequent need to go in." Environmental understanding In the YF22 flighttest program,
Lockheed and the USAF carefully instrumented the interior of the aircraft, to characterize and
understand the environment in the equipment bays, and the thermal and vibration stresses that
subsystems would encounter. "We understand the environment so that components are not just
designed to MilSpecs," says Ogg. This has already saved time in qualifying systems for flighttest,
he says: "About 80% of our hardware qualified on the first pass typically, it was 10% in the
past." The next step in an integrated approach to LO support is diagnostics "knowing exactly
what broke, so you know which panel to take off," says Summerlot. Like improved reliability, this
reduces not only LOrelated costs, but also the support costs of the entire system. Where
components continue to require regular access, or where the technology to ensure long inspection
intervals does not exist, the F22 has 'frequentaccess' panels which can be opened and closed
without compromising the LO 'bubble', through the appropriate combination of structural design,
latches and gaskets, like weaponbay and landinggear doors. Those systems that need frequent
attention are arranged so that the smallest number of frequentaccess doors cover all the systems
that need routine inspection. For instance, the core avionics are grouped in two racks, one on
each side of the forebody, and are covered by two frequentaccess panels, and the dataport for
the portable maintenance aid (a laptop computer which downloads diagnostic data) is located in
one of the main landinggear bays. As the F22 engineering and manufacturing development
(EMD) program continues, Summerlot expects that the number of frequentaccess panels may
change. If a subsystem is not as reliable as expected, the engineers have two choices: improve it,
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or make it more accessible by replacing a 'putty panel' with a selfsealing door. Structurally, the F
22 is designed to place minimal demands on RAM or coatings. Major structural joints, such as the
junction of the midbody and forward fuselage, are serrated so that the joint lines are aligned with
the wing leading edges. The use of computeraided design and manufacturing an offtheshelf
technology for the F22, but one which the B2's creators had to invent has been a major
advance, improving the way that major assemblies fit together, and reducing the size of steps and
gaps. "There have been no revolutionary changes" in RAM or other LO materials, says Summerlot.
"It has been an evolution of the technology that was built up in the F117 and B2 programs." F
22 materials have to survive a harsher environment, including higher skin temperatures in
sustained supersonic flight, and are intended to be more userfriendly than the materials used on
earlier LO aircraft. One fundamental principle of the F22's approach to LO materials was to
minimize their number. In the F117 or B2 programs, where LO goals were paramount, designers
tended to select the material which was best suited to the different electromagnetic, thermal,
vibration, and structural requirements in any particular location with the result that different
types of material proliferated. "This was the most significant lesson that we learned from other
programs," comments a Lockheed Martin engineer. On the F22, the individual merits of each
material type were balanced against a requirement to reduce the number of materials, with the
result that the F22 uses about onethird as many different LO materials as earlier LO aircraft.
Consequently, the fighter wing's maintenance organization stocks carries fewer materials, and
needs less equipment to install, repair and test them. In addition, maintenance staff need less
training. There are three watchwords in the development and selection of LO materials and repair
processes, says Summerlot: "Repeatability, repeatability and repeatability." If the materials can be
repaired with simple processes which are known to generate consistent results in service, the
repairs will require less inspection and the fighter will need less support equipment such as
CLOVRS. Another element of the F22 LO approach is an 'effects of defects' program, aimed at
quantifying the RCS effects of measurable variations in the LO surface. Instead of striving for
perfection, maintainers will know that the aircraft is 'good to go' and will meet LO requirements
even if blemishes are present. LO gathers momentum There is still LO work to be completed. High
temperature RAM on the exhaust nozzles poses a challenge Lockheed Martin is "comfortable"
with the new RAM systems that it is using, says Summerlot. The first F22A EMD aircraft are "not
fully compliant" in terms of LO, because maintaining their LO features would delay important early
flight tests. As later LOequipped aircraft join the program, the development of LO maintenance
techniques will gather pace. The objective is a fighter which has no extraordinary maintenance
requirements and which "rarely has to go to a hangar for LO restoration." "Rarely" does not mean
'never' there are some extreme conditions which will even drive an F15 indoors but it is clear
that the F22 has been carefully designed so that LO should not be the principal driver of its
maintenance costs. The overall goal, says ACC's Armstrong, is to drive the LO maintenance
requirements, in MMH/FH, "from 20plus to the low single digits." Both competitors in the JSF
program describe their approach to LO as evolutionary. Certainly, if the F22 program achieves its
goals, the maintenance burden directly associated with LO will be low enough to be offset by the
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smaller, simpler defensive avionics system. One challenge, however, will be designing LO systems
that can survive a maritime environment and be maintained aboard a carrier. The Boeing F/A
18E/F incorporates carrierqualified LO technology, although it is not a stealth aircraft in the class
of the F117 or F22. One of the most useful innovations is a nonmagnetic, lightweight RAM
which does not incorporate carbonyl iron particles, which are prone to corrosion. The F/A18E/F
incorporates only one type of RAM, used in key areas (probably the inlet duct and parts of the
forward fuselage) and Boeing is developing a tapetype repair scheme. One innovation that will
affect the cost of LO maintenance, however, is being studied by Lockheed Martin and 3M. Since
1995, the two companies have been working on 'paintless' aircraft coatings under a fiveyear
contract from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The coatings comprise precut
appliques for large surface areas, and 'boots' for wing and tail edges, made from an adhesive
polymer material. So far, the coatings have been tested on a fighter (an F16), a carrierbased S
3, and a large aircraft (a C130), and early production applications have been earmarked for JSK.
One of the advantages cited for the 3M paintless coating is that it can be applied without sprays
and removed without strippers, so that potentially toxic or environmentally harmful materials in
the surface finish are not released into the atmosphere or the drainage system. This would make
it easier to replace part or all of the finish on the flight line. It would also allow the LO group to
incorporate different materials in a surface coating without adding different paints and procedures
to the logistics chain. As the industry approaches the 25year anniversary of the first stealth
research contracts, it is clear that there are still gains to be won from investments in LO
technology. Several neglected areas are going to repay attention. It also appears that the USAF
and Lockheed Martin have studied the lessons of the F117 and B2 well, and that the F22 should
be the first LO aircraft to require no special pampering from its operators.
Lockheed Martin has experimented with pressuresensitive adhesive applique materials to replace
paint on military aircraft. 3M applique material has been trialed on a USAF F16, covering some
56m2 including upper fuselage and wing surfaces. These appliques will offer advantages in
maintainability, weight, and costs. (photo: Lockheed Martin)
The F22 has 'frequentaccess' panels (seen here along the forward fuselage) which can be
opened and closed without compromising the LO 'bubble'. Those systems that need frequent
attention are arranged so that the smallest number of frequentaccess doors cover all the systems
that need routine inspection. (photo: Bill Sweetman)
Block 30 upgrade work includes this method of 'depainting' the aircraft using crystallized wheat
starch and highpressure air, which is environmentally safe and does not damage the composite
skins. (photo: Northrop Grumman)
Like its F117 predecessor, the B2 is requiring a significant measure of maintenance in its early
years, and is undergoing a series of modifications which are intended to reduce the maintenance
burden. The B2 Block 30, due to be declared operational next year, is a major upgrade of the
original Block 10 configuration. The modification includes the removal and replacement of all the
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aircraft's edges, including the leading edges and control surfaces, in order to meet RCS
requirements. (photo: Northrop Grumman)
These assembly line pictures demonstrate how skin joints and access panels on the F22 are
serrated to avoid sealing, which negates the need to use putties and tapes. (photos: Lockheed
Martin)
These assembly line pictures demonstrate how skin joints and access panels on the F22 are
serrated to avoid sealing, which negates the need to use putties and tapes. (photos: Lockheed
Martin)
Optical probes are used here to measure steps and gaps in joint lines along this YF22's skin
panels. (photo: Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Martin has

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The F22 has 'frequentaccess

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Block 30 upgrade work includes

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Like its F117 predecessor,

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These assembly line pictures

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These assembly line pictures

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Optical probes are used here

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Clouding The Issue of Stealth Aircraft Supportability

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ihs.

Date Posted: 01-Oct-1998

CLOUDING THE ISSUE OF STEALTH

Lockheed Martin has

The F22 has 'frequentaccess

Block 30 upgrade work includes

Like its F117 predecessor,

These assembly line pictures

These assembly line pictures

Optical probes are used here

Copyright IHS Global Limited, 2015

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