The US Air Force is continuously challenged with developing capabilities to quickly and effectively assess damage inflicted on aircraft during routine training, combat, and maintenance activities. Demanding operational tempos require near real-time assessment of the aircraft”s operational status. End-of-day and end-of-week inspections are utilized to log new damages and defects on the aircraft exterior surfaces and to determine their impact to the operational status of the aircraft. This is important for identifying damage to both the aircraft structure and non-structural coatings. This proposal will build on Etegent”s experience and success developing and deploying structural damage mapping systems for the Navy and will apply this experience to non-structural coating damage mapping situations. BENEFIT: The goal of the automated damage registration system is to reduce inspection time and to improve accuracy over the current baseline trace and transfer approach. Reductions in inspection time lines will benefit the US Air Force by reducing Direct Maintenance Man-Hours per Flight Hour (DMMH/FH), ultimately reducing the overall lifecycle maintenance costs.
