REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala--Getting the full maintenance picture of the Apache helicopter during flight is possible with the Smart Tool for Aviation Maintenance Picture (STAMP) system.
PEO Aviation fielded the first system to Fort Campbell, Ky., during the week of 25 September. The 101st Combat Aviation Brigade finished training on the system on September 27 and is now fully mission capable with the STAMP.
Part of the Army’s targeted modernization efforts, STAMP embraces the digital environment and provides near-real time fault information based on high-fidelity, system-generated reports. This is an improvement on the current process of waiting for the Apache to return home.
Diagnostic and fault data is transmitted from the aircraft while in flight to the ground-based STAMP kit. “When something happens, it actually (securely) sends information to the satellite, which then relays the information to the STAMP,” Christopher Gibbons, Apache Development & Modernization’s (DevMod) Assistant Product Manager Drives & Rotors, said. “Maintainers can see those warnings or messages about what is happening on the aircraft while it’s flying. It prepares the folks on the ground to address any issue from the aircraft.”
STAMP allows commanders to efficiently complete field level maintenance tasks while operating from multiple, dispersed, forward locations during large scale combat operations; a critical capability needed to fight and win against peer and near-peer threats.
Having actual system information earlier in the process helps reduce or eliminate possible misdiagnoses, enables necessary personnel, tools, and parts to be correctly identified and assembled, and reduces trips and unnecessary equipment transport to and from the hangar. This contributes to a faster maintenance turnaround time.
The goal of STAMP is to give our ground base maintainers as much lead time as possible to have the right resources—soldiers, tools, spare parts—on hand. “Where that compressed lead time is most useful is with a response team called a DART [Downed Aircraft Recovery Team],” Erick Arnell, Apache DevMod Program Support Integrator, said. “If an aircraft lands somewhere outside the home station, rather than having to do that investigation and troubleshooting, then go back and pick up what you need, the onboard software lets you know what the aircraft thinks it needs. And you get that information in near real time.”
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