Imagine a new paint that isn’t a carcinogenic hazard for the painters, is environmentally friendly, and reduces painting time. Air Force Materiel Command and friends at the University of Missouri-Rolla, Boeing, and Deft Industrial Finishes have concocted just such a material to replace the one currently used to strip and paint F-15 fighters. And, the new non-chromate materials perform as well as the old chromate primers, say AFMC officials. AFMC expects to complete full conversion to the new primer through the six-year Program Depot Maintenance cycle, with 36 Eagles already painted since September 2005.
After years of describing to lawmakers and Pentagon leaders the nature of that threat and the key role spacepower plays in deterring conflict in the domain and enabling the rest of the joint force, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman told reporters during AFA’s Warfare Symposium here that the message appears to…