BAE Systems has completed its 1,000th repair of the US Air Force’s KC-135 fuel system at its Endicott facility in New York, marking a new milestone in more than 40 years of support for the fleet’s readiness.
BAE Systems is the sole provider of the Fuel Management System for the KC-135 fleet, the US Air Force’s primary aerial refuelling aircraft. BAE Systems Sustainment Programme Manager Corson Witham stated that this milestone demonstrates the team’s technical expertise and the durability of the system’s design. Witham emphasised that the company continues to contribute to the US Air Force’s operational readiness objectives by maintaining the reliability of critical flight systems.
Modernisation Support for the KC-135 Fuel System
As the sole provider of the Fuel Management System (FMS), which is critical to the flight safety of KC-135 aircraft, BAE Systems carries out maintenance activities for the Fuel Management Advisory Computer (FMAC) and Integrated Fuel Management Panel (IFMP). By maintaining legacy hardware, the company addresses obsolescence while also providing modern upgrades that help the aircraft operate in contested airspace.
BAE Systems has developed a new FMS modernisation solution to improve the operational readiness of the KC-135 fleet. The company stated that the solution incorporates Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) with performance characteristics that exceed future mean time between failures requirements. The open-architecture system has been developed in accordance with the US Air Force’s Aviation Maintenance System – Global Requirements Assurance framework, with the architecture expected to provide flexibility for future modernisation and repair activities.
These efforts are supported by BAE Systems’ experience in delivering flight safety-critical aviation systems, including fly-by-wire controls, fuel management controls, electronic engine controls, power management systems and other mission-critical avionics.
The KC-135 fleet has also expanded in Alaska, with four additional KC-135 Stratotankers joining the Alaska Air National Guard’s 168th Air Refuelling Wing in April.
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Source: C4Defence– BAE Systems
