Transistors Online

New Laws Brought In To Make Military Aircraft Safer

New policies for improving and maintaining aircraft safety have been welcomed and adopted by both American and UK military forces. Many concerns have been raised regarding the quality and safety of current military aircraft serving in the conflicts in both Afghanistan and Iraq, which many believe has resulted in unnecessary loss of life. Military officials from both governments have agreed on a new set of build and maintenance safety policies, following a comprehensive review of current legislation.Here are a number of the policies to be introduced

Double testing. Each aircraft that is built and supplied to either the US and UK armed services will also go through another testing process by an independent aviation group. Any issues that this group identifies, even as small as faulty solenoids or door hinges, must be addressed by the armed force who owns the vehicle. There will additionally be a system put into action where findings regarding specific hazards or mechanical issues can be shared between countries, so that both can take action to better their craft

Regular safety review. A major issue with many military vehicles is that after it has been in service for 5+ years, it’s built-in safety features are well out of date. The new legislation states that every 4 years, each vehicle must have a full safety review and any out of date features must be replaced or brought up to current standards

Annual maintenance. Military vehicles already undergo frequent maintenance, however the maintenance process varies between armed services and even between different military units. Under the new system, every vehicle will be submitted to another independent body each year for a full service to replace and multicore cables, damaged circuit boards or mil spec cable for example.This move will see a better tracking of aircraft maintenance history and is thought will help identify recurring issues with weak or faulty parts.