News

Updating Globemasters: 562nd AMXS extends C-17 range, adds fire protection

  • Published
  • By Jenny Gordon
  • Robins Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Think of it as a sophisticated piece of insurance that protects powerful weapon systems such as the C-17 Globemaster III, maintained at Robins by the 562nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. 

Nearing completion on its eighth C-17, maintainers have been working the last eight months to modify the aircraft to an Extended Range and On Board Inert Gas Generation II System.    

The system, called OBIGGS, operates much like a controlled fire extinguisher, dispersing inert gas which prevents an aircraft from being engulfed in flames when it's hit during enemy engagement. 

"It basically keeps the plane from burning up," said David Clements, 562nd AMXS overhaul supervisor. 

At the same time as this ongoing project, a crew of nearly 40 hydraulics, electrical, aircraft and sheet metal mechanics are also working on the aircraft's center dry bay area and converting it for additional fuel capabilities.

"By adding 6,000 gallons of fuel, aircraft will be able to fly extended range as opposed to short-range missions," he said.    

Because of the C-17's ability to directly deliver cargo and troops onto the battlefield, it is subject to enemy fire. Should a fire occur in one of the fuel tanks, OBIGGS prevents those fuel tanks from exploding and taking over the plane. 

Once a fire warning light is visible in the cockpit, a handle is pulled that deploys the system. An inert nitrogen gas is injected and released into the effected fuel tank and displaces the explosive air and fuel inside. 

You can't really see the system itself. It's hidden underneath the belly of the plane and all throughout, and includes an air/water separator, turbo compressors, air conditioning systems, holding tanks and duct work, hauled to the work site over two-and-a-half tractor trailer loads. 

Mechanics spend much of their time performing repetitious movements during the week, many of it in fuel tanks and working in the wings. One of the last components to be installed is a containment structure, which acts as a secondary barrier that catches any leaking fuel from a tank. 

"If you have a leak, this composite fiberglass barrier will catch any fuel, dispense it outward and then down the fuselage under the floor, and drain into the belly of the plane," said Clements. 

About 50 percent of the work is performed in the aircraft's wings, another 40 percent in the belly, and the other 10 percent within the cockpit and fuselage.

The team has come a long way since modifying the system on the first C-17 seven years ago. 

An Air Force veteran and former Houston County Sheriff's Office criminal investigator, Tony Brown joined Team Robins seven years ago, and has been on the OBIGGS project since the start.

"It was a challenge at the beginning obviously because it was something new for us," he recalled. "But as we continued to do it, it got to the point where we adapted to any changes. We improved techniques at a much faster rate." 

The work package on this particular project was 46,000 hours. When the first OBIGGS II was installed, it took about 65,000 hours, said Carl Nelson, 562nd AMXS production team lead.

"There have been many improvements, a lot of ideas and processes implemented over the years," he said. 

Clements said he can recall only one instance when OBIGGS was deployed downrange since its first installment. 

It was a success.