Army helos to get diagnostic sensors

[unhappycamper]

Army helos to get diagnostic sensors
By Kris Osborn - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Feb 2, 2009 12:11:30 EST

The Army is installing diagnostic devices on thousands more of its helicopters to find problems earlier, leaders said.

The service, which has since 2001 equipped 302 Apache attack choppers and 309 Black Hawk utility choppers, plans to equip all 3,300 of its Apaches, Black Hawks, Chinooks and Kiowa Warriors by 2015.

About 500 helicopters a year will get the devices, called digital source collectors, said Christopher Smith, director of condition-based maintenance (CBM), Huntsville, Ala. Each one costs about $70,000 to install on a high-tech, computerized helicopter such as an Apache and $250,000 to put on, for example, a Black Hawk aircraft that does not have a computer, he said.

The Army is introducing CBM, which depends on small diagnostic devices, as a way to increase the efficiency of maintenance efforts and to spot problems early.

The Kiowa Warriors are starting to get the devices now, said Maj. Gen. James Myles, who commands the Army’s Aviation and Missile Command in Huntsville. “We thought we would not need it because of the ARH (Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter), but now that the ARH is canceled, we know it is now worth it to go down this journey.”


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/02/defense_army_diagnostics_020209/%2e