The Spanish Air Force's ABDR procedure for repairing an aircraft during a deployment

The deployment of fighter aircraft beyond our borders is now a common reality in the Spanish Armed Forces.

The most distant deployment of the Spanish Air Force in Australia and New Zealand
An excellent report from the Spanish Air Force about its deployment in Alaska

Spain's commitments to NATO and deployments such as Pacific Skies 24 around the world require not only having aircraft and personnel prepared for long deployments, but also solving possible incidents that would leave an aircraft grounded due to lack of a spare part. Although some of the parts can be brought from Spain, it is not always feasible to do so. For this, there are ABDR (Aircraft Battle Damage Repair) procedures, the purpose of which is to return an aircraft to operational status at a certain level of capacity.

In the Pacific Skies deployment, the Spanish Air Force is testing this procedure, after developing "the additive manufacturing capacity for aeronautical components for deployments, which allows, in a remotely assisted manner, to obtain in a short time the necessary parts to replace damaged aircraft components."

To prevent any of its aircraft from being grounded due to a part for which a replacement is not available at the deployment site, the Spanish Air Force carries a FAMU (Forward Advanced Manufacturing Unit), which consists of "a deployable container containing the equipment necessary to complete the manufacturing process of an aeronautical component: scanning the damaged part, its 3D printing, application of heat treatment and machining. FAMU has been configured with technology from the company MELTIO through the collaboration of the Air and Space Force with Novaindef."

This Monday, the Spanish Air Force published a video showing how this procedure is used to manufacture spare parts and certify them for use in aircraft during a deployment (the video is in Spanish, you can activate automatic English subtitles in the bottom bar of the player):

It should be noted that the Air Force unit in charge of this task of manufacturing spare parts during the Pacific Skies deployment is the Maestranza Aérea de Albacete (MAESAL), the most important of the three Air Force maintenance and repair centres (the other two are in Madrid and Seville).

The FAMU container developed by MAESAL is a pioneer in the world of military aviation and is supported by the Military Design Organization of the Logistics Support Command and the Defense Airworthiness Authority. "This advance not only allows a rapid and efficient response in operational deployments, but also guarantees maximum safety and reliability, since the manufactured parts have the airworthiness certificate. With this achievement, the Air and Space Force reaffirms its commitment to excellence and the continuous modernization of its capabilities, strengthening its position as a benchmark in aerospace defense", says the Spanish Air Force.

---

Photos: Ejército del Aire / Australian Government Department of Defence.