Last week marked the first time Boeing and small-business partner Near Earth Autonomy cataloged a C-5 for their Autonomous Aircraft Inspection project. By feeding photos snapped by an unmanned aerial system through automated damage-detecting software and then uploading the results into a secure database accessible across the world, the two companies hope to slash the time it takes to evaluate and repair aircraft, ultimately boosting Air Force readiness.
Scott Belanger, a Boeing executive, told reporters gathered at the base on Jan. 23 that “This is what young technicians live in the Department of Defense, the Navy, the Army, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, whoever it may be.”
Dover Air Force Base is home to both C-17 and C-5 aircraft. Traditional inspections relying on trained crews can take hours, with harnessing and clambering required. The 34-point review conducted Jan. 23 via drone took roughly 10 minutes.
Only two people are needed to run the Automated Aircraft Inspection, and training takes a few hours. The process helps overcome the tedium associated with conventional assay, according to Ken Jones, an Air Force maintenance official. The drone-and-software combo deployed at Dover Air Force Base discovered missing paint, chips and other possible irregularities.
For future examinations, Boeing and Near Earth Autonomy are eyeing additional drone payloads, to potentially catch subsurface damage, and are moving the drone outdoors, requiring weatherization upgrades to the hardware. Boeing, the fifth largest contractor in the world when ranked by defense-related revenue, committed to getting the UAS operating outside within the next year and a half.
