RAF Harrier repair and maintenance turnaround times are being reduced by up to 75 percent and cost savings of 25 percent achieved through the introduction of a new program called Pulse Line.

Established at RAF Cottesmore, Rutland, U.K., an MRO facility called Pulse Line was laid down in January 2003 as part of a pilot program to improve maintenance turnaround times, and this has now been superseded for design-authority repairs, with the results indicated. The new program brings together under a Joint Repair Organisation (JRO) RAF, Royal Navy, and BAE Systems people authorized to enact full repair, kit supply, and related activities for all types of U.K. Harrier aircraft.

Pulse Line is an all-new facility under which Harriers being received at RAF Cottismore are moved to the Pulse Line where airframe and systems repair/maintenance work is performed according to requirements by specially trained personnel. Under the previous arrangement work was performed on individual aircraft in a non-integrated manner. There is no physical "line" as such, while aircraft are moved sequentially along to receive attention from design and structures engineers and MRO specialists. Up to nine Harriers can be in the line at one time RAF Harrier engines are all overhauled and repaired by Rolls-Royce, Derby.

The JRO is now operating under an incentivized contract running to the RAF Harrier out-of-service date, currently scheduled for 2015. Much is being gained from the new program, for in addition to reducing the turnaround times from 120 days to 70 days, BAE Systems and the Ministry of Defence are looking to future cost savings expected to occur from further working practice improvements.

An example of this is the new approach being applied to Harrier wing leading edge root extensions, or LERX. The LERX is one of a number of Harrier components with a limited life. It was recognized three years ago that the future availability of aircraft could be jeopardized due to a lack of serviceable LERXs. An investigatory team saw that the expected life of the LERX was measured in flying hours, a method that did not account for the different types of maneuvers the aircraft was called upon to perform.

Their solution was the recommendation of the creation of a complete spares, repairs, maintenance, and supply chain management package for the LERX until its out-of-service date, instead of the full-scale replacement program previously applied. BAE Systems' Customer Solutions and Support will hold the stock and take the risk. Captain Paul Bishop of the Royal Navy said this will reduce the cost and guarantee availability for the front line. -- By Roy Allen