{"id":1196,"date":"2017-06-22T04:02:18","date_gmt":"2017-06-22T01:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/?p=1196"},"modified":"2017-06-23T18:23:59","modified_gmt":"2017-06-23T15:23:59","slug":"us-navy-to-try-10-year-old-technology-to-end-hypoxia-problem-on-fighter-jets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/?p=1196","title":{"rendered":"US Navy to Try 10-Year-Old Technology to End Hypoxia Problem on Fighter Jets"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"US<\/a>

US Navy T-45 Goshawk (Photo by \u00a9 Boeing)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The US Navy is trying to solve the suffocation problem on some of its planes that\u2019s tortured US pilots for years with new and improved oxygen generators, originally developed a decade ago.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to\u00a0drive a US military officer that works in\u00a0aviation crazy, say one word: hypoxia. This term, which refers to\u00a0a lack of\u00a0oxygen in\u00a0human tissue, is problem that has vexed US aviation for\u00a0years, though usually without\u00a0the public knowing.<\/p>\n

The problem finally came to\u00a0light after\u00a0the US Navy released a report in\u00a0which it acknowledged a twofold increase in\u00a0oxygen system failures between\u00a02012 to\u00a02016. The report focused on\u00a0the T-45 plane, used to\u00a0train pilots, but\u00a0the problem is actually much larger, as\u00a0reports of\u00a0hypoxia in\u00a0pilots of\u00a0F\/A-18 Hornets and EA-18G Growlers have also been made public. At least four US Hornet pilots have died because of\u00a0hypoxia.<\/p>\n

In April, trainer pilots went on strike<\/a>, refusing to\u00a0fly T-45s until\u00a0the oxygen problem is fixed.<\/p>\n

\"US<\/a>

Training pilots make preparations inside T-45 Goshawks as part of the advanced course of the Student Naval Aviator strike pilot training program aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. (Photo by DOD\/Sgt. Dengrier Baez)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Hypoxia issues date all the way back to\u00a02011, when the US Air Force grounded its fleet of\u00a0F-22 stealth fighters, supposedly “the most capable aircraft in\u00a0the world,” due to\u00a0a hypoxia rate that was nine times more pronounced than\u00a0in other US fighters, according to War Is Boring<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Even the mighty F-35, the astronomic cost of\u00a0which is almost obscene to\u00a0talk about, suffers from\u00a0the same issue. On June 12, all F-35s at\u00a0Arizona’s Luke Air Force Base were grounded after\u00a0five pilots complained of\u00a0hypoxia. The planes were carefully examined and studied by\u00a0engineers and technicians, but\u00a0the cause of\u00a0the problem has never been found. Luke AFB nonetheless resumed F-35 flights on\u00a0June 20.<\/p>\n

So now the US Navy, which still has no understanding of\u00a0what causes various US planes’ oxygen systems to\u00a0fail, has decided to\u00a0try to\u00a0replace some parts of\u00a0their onboard oxygen generators (OBOGS) with “next-generation” counterparts developed by\u00a0UK-based company Cobham\u2026 a decade ago.<\/p>\n

“We had worked collaboratively with\u00a0the Navy to\u00a0modify the GGU-7, which has been the workhorse concentrator on\u00a0the T-45,” Derek Woods, director of\u00a0pneumatic systems at\u00a0Cobham, told Military.com, referring to\u00a0a OBOGS component developed about\u00a030 years ago, according to\u00a0Defense Tech.<\/p>\n

“[S]o they produced an engineered version called the GGU-25 that was really driven to\u00a0look at\u00a0some improvements of\u00a0reliability of\u00a0components, as\u00a0well as\u00a0provide a little bit of\u00a0expanded communication capability and data gathering ability,” he added.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0Defense Tech, US test pilots took some 400 hours of\u00a0flight with\u00a0GGU-25, but, for\u00a0some reason, it has never gone into\u00a0production.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0Woods, though the Navy effectively rejected the GGU-25, the company invested “heavily” into\u00a0development of\u00a0the device, updating its characteristics, modifying its design and adding cool new features for\u00a0communications and data synchronization.<\/p>\n

“So we’re building in\u00a0that capability\u2026 [it’s] not only improved reliability, maintainability, but\u00a0also flexibility as\u00a0new technologies and suites of\u00a0technologies are identified. We really think that’s a huge advantage for\u00a0the flight crew,” he said.<\/p>\n

Cobham is ready to\u00a0give the Navy the updated device to\u00a0replace its 30-year-old predecessor right away, Woods said, but\u00a0implied that until\u00a0US Navy identifies the cause of\u00a0the hypoxia problem, the development process is going to\u00a0be effectively blind.<\/p>\n