3D Printing Sends Broken F-15 Back to Action Within Hours
US Air Force and Marine teams used on-site additive manufacturing to rapidly print and install critical F-15 parts, slashing repair timelines from months to hours.
US Air Force and Marine Corps repair teams have joined forces to send a damaged F-15 back to flight status in just a few hours, far ahead of the original several-month timeline.
The 18th Maintenance Group (18 MXG) at Kadena Air Base in Japan reached out to Marine Aircraft Logistics Squadron 36 (MALS-36) to leverage its on-site additive manufacturing equipment in repairing a malfunctioning cooling duct.
Within 12 hours, the teams printed, delivered, and installed two prototypes that restored the duct to operational condition, beating engineers’ original four-month repair estimate.
https://nextgendefense.com/3d-printing-broken-f15/
