Photo: Collins Aerospace
It’s probably not something you’d expect U.S. Air Force (USAF) contractors to advertise when it comes to the airplanes they design, but wheels and brakes are essential to the well-being of a flying war machine.
Wheels and brakes are what help a military aircraft depart and come to a safe stop once the mission is over. The downside is that most of the parts used in today’s airplanes are as old in terms of design as the machines themselves.
At the moment, the USAF is engaged in an all-out modernization effort of its fleets. In just a few cases we’re talking about the creation of new pieces of hardware, as these efforts are mostly centered on updating existing platforms. Like the aging F-15, for instance, which was revived these past few years as the F-15EX Eagle II.
The work of Boeing, the aircraft is currently in testing stages, but series production was approved, and the USAF expects delivery of some 144 such aircraft in the near future.
That means a lot of parts need to be produced, and for the airplane’s wheel and braking needs, Boeing selected Collins Aerospace as the main supplier. That’s the same company that at the beginning of the year was chosen to supply wheels and brakes for the upgrade efforts made for the B-52 Stratofortress.
For the F-15 (whose legacy brakes, for instance, were designed in the 1970s), the chosen solution comes as lock ring wheels and carbon brake systems, which have a 25,000-mile (40,000 km) fatigue life and should last for 1,400 landings before being in need of an overhaul.
Boeing did not say how many airplanes will get the Collins hardware, but it did mention the contract covers lots one through three of the F-15EX production. Separately, Collins also supplies brakes for the F-16, C-5, C-130 and Global Hawk.
At the moment, the USAF is engaged in an all-out modernization effort of its fleets. In just a few cases we’re talking about the creation of new pieces of hardware, as these efforts are mostly centered on updating existing platforms. Like the aging F-15, for instance, which was revived these past few years as the F-15EX Eagle II.
The work of Boeing, the aircraft is currently in testing stages, but series production was approved, and the USAF expects delivery of some 144 such aircraft in the near future.
That means a lot of parts need to be produced, and for the airplane’s wheel and braking needs, Boeing selected Collins Aerospace as the main supplier. That’s the same company that at the beginning of the year was chosen to supply wheels and brakes for the upgrade efforts made for the B-52 Stratofortress.
For the F-15 (whose legacy brakes, for instance, were designed in the 1970s), the chosen solution comes as lock ring wheels and carbon brake systems, which have a 25,000-mile (40,000 km) fatigue life and should last for 1,400 landings before being in need of an overhaul.
Boeing did not say how many airplanes will get the Collins hardware, but it did mention the contract covers lots one through three of the F-15EX production. Separately, Collins also supplies brakes for the F-16, C-5, C-130 and Global Hawk.
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