Project Announcement: Intermittent Fault Detection Technology Pilot Implementation for U.S. Air Force/Air Force Materiel Command

The Department of Defense/U.S. Air Force is currently challenged by the inability to detect and isolate faults in aircraft wiring bundles and Weapon Replaceable Assembly (WRA)/Line Replaceable Units (LRUs). These faults include opens and shorts, degraded and intermittent signals, and insulation degradation. The magnitude of the challenge is daunting, with the DoD spending approximately $2 billion annually just removing and replacing WRAs/LRUs that, when tested, are determined to be “no-fault-found (NFF).”

The purpose of this collaboration is to pilot a use case of the Voyager Intermittent Fault Detector (VIFD) for the USAF’s F-15 fleet at a Repair Network Integration (RNI) node/field maintenance location to detect and repair/resolve intermittent faults that are unnecessarily driving F-15 avionics/electronic countermeasure system/other aircraft wiring harnesses back to depot-level for test/diagnostic/repair action. This effort will build upon the experiences of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) and the Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC) at Hill Air Force Base, Ogden Air Logistics Center (OO-ALC) utilizing the Intermittent Fault Detection & Isolation System (IFDIS) and will develop a strategy for further implementation for the F-15 program, and other U.S. Air Force/DoD programs.

Those interested in participating in this initiative should contact Dana Ellis by September 15, 2017. We encourage participation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs), including Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) and Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs).