System design of a C-17 Radome Test Station

Abstract

Changes in the mission profile and harsh operational environments are believed to have caused pre-mature aging of the C-17 nose and tail radomes. As a result, age related changes of the operational characteristics of the radomes were experienced earlier than expected. Because the C-17 is projected to serve as the backbone of the strategic airlift fleet for the next several decades, these conditions precipitated the requirement for additional repair and testing capabilities. These capabilities, which are viewed as part of the overall maintenance architecture for the C-17, were developed by the Mercer Engineering Research Center (MERC) as the repair validation component of the architecture to return the radomes to service. The system was eventually transitioned to the C-5 radomes as well. The test system requirements, design and facility requirements of the subject radome test system are presented in this paper.