Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) marked a milestone in its support of the F-35 Lightning II program when the depot inducted its 100th F-35 for modifications June 11.

The induction signifies more than just a number – it represents eight years of efforts to stand up and grow the F-35 modification line at the depot, said FRCE Commanding Officer Col. Thomas A. Atkinson.

Advanced military aircraft rely on fiber optics to transmit massive amounts of data to avionics and flight control systems in real time. Like most other parts of an aircraft, the connectors at the ends of these critical cables and the ends of the fiber strands inside the connectors can get dirty with use in harsh environments, which can degrade their efficiency. 

Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) was recently honored as a Gold level award recipient of the 2021 Florida Sterling Manufacturing Business Excellence (SMBE) Award.

FloridaMakes and the Florida Sterling Counsel issue the awards annually to recognize organizations that have achieved superior performance. A rigorous finalist list included 20 organizations out of 140 who competed from around the state, vying for recognition and SMBE Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards.

When it comes to military aircraft maintenance, corrosion is a fact of life. The Navy and Marine Corps aircraft maintained at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) operate in some of the planet’s most extreme conditions and demanding scenarios, resulting in the need for costly and time-consuming corrosion inspection and repair processes.

Aircraft corrosion will soon be easier to find thanks to redOx, a Department of the Navy (DON) Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR)-funded innovation that combines data collected by drones with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities to interpret the data. The redOx team recently was named a 2021 American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) Innovation Award winner at the organization’s Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference. The award recognizes innovations that improve services to citizens and government operations.

A significant milestone in the history of naval aviation maintenance and repairs is coming to an end.

The Navy’s Center Barrel Replacement (CBR) program that was created by Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) in 1991 inducted its last F/A-18 legacy Hornet fighter (RA52) to undergo the CBR procedure March 17 at Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI).

Engines on the H-53 helicopter and the F/A-18 attack aircraft work in some harsh environments, as hundreds of parts spin, torque and rotate to power these massive aircraft. This constant wear and tear means these metal parts often have to be replaced when the engines are at Fleet Readiness Center East for maintenance and repair. These worn-out blades, nozzles and vanes have to be accounted for and processed before they can be scrapped, which can be a cumbersome, costly process. 

The Fleet Readiness Center East workforce rarely encounters a problem that can’t be solved through teamwork, innovation and a little bit of elbow grease.

A flexible manufacturing cell (FMC) under development in Building 472 is projected to save Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) approximately $2.5 million annually in set-up time within the command’s manufacturing and components programs. 

The FMC will generate additional savings by creating more efficient re-work processes, according to Gabe Draguicevich, FRCSW New Technology Division Director.

Fleet Readiness Center East hosted Sen. Thom Tillis and Rep. Greg Murphy for a June 2 visit to the depot’s H-1 Aircraft Rework Facility at the North Carolina Global TransPark in Kinston.

FRCE Commanding Officer Col. Thomas A. Atkinson discussed with the legislators potential partnerships that could facilitate workload expansion opportunities both at FRCE’s Global TransPark facility and within the depot’s footprint at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.