The Raytheon Company is testing a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed to help determine when the multi-mode radar installed on U.S. Air Force CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft is in need of service. The predictive maintenance solution – already used in various forms on commercial airline fleets – provides maintainers with exact, real-time conditions of the multi-mode radar, along with recommendations for where and when repairs should be made.

The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey has a rough history of reliability issues and different service branches are continuing to develop mitigation efforts. Last year, the U.S. Marine Corps condensed the number of MV-22 Osprey variants that the service operated down from 70 to 5 configurations, greatly reducing maintenance complexity in the process.  

“Just like you get your car's oil changed every 5,000 miles, whether you need to or not, the military generally repairs parts on their planes on a set schedule,” says Matt Gilligan, vice president for Raytheon Intelligence, Information, and Services.

Using AI algorithms could reduce much of the unnecessary maintenance work performed out of caution and reduce the amount of time the aircraft is grounded.

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William Kucinski is content editor at SAE International, Aerospace Products Group in Warrendale, Pa. Previously, he worked as a writer at the NASA Safety Center in Cleveland, Ohio and was responsible for writing the agency’s System Failure Case Studies. His interests include literally anything that has to do with space, past and present military aircraft, and propulsion technology.

Contact him regarding any article or collaboration ideas by e-mail at william.kucinski@sae.org.