U.S. Air Force mechanics resolved an unspecified “in-flight weapons system maintenance issue” on the F-22 Raptor that affected its radar cross section, the service announced. The “innovative solution” cost much less than replacing the system and reduced maintenance down time, allowing student pilots to resume flying the fifth-generation fighter.

In an article the Air Force news service published on November 15, the service described the weapons-system issue as a “re-occurring problem with one of the jets” that had persisted for a few months. Left unfixed, the problem would have made the jet more vulnerable to detection by enemy aircraft and radars.

“It took us about two days and several people overall to finally nail it down,” said Senior Airman Samuel Privett, a weapons load crew member with the 43rd Aircraft Maintenance Unit at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. “We have a fabrication machine in the shop that allowed us to create what we needed. We were able to fix the problem ourselves without having to send the jet off to the depot for maintenance.”

Replacing the affected system would have cost $40,000 to $50,000; the in-house fix cost $250 and saved more than 200 hours in labor and lost flight time, the Air Force said. “We were able to isolate the malfunction that had been eluding us for quite some time,” said Master Sgt. David Riddle, the 43rd AMU weapons flight chief.

Separately, on October 31 the Department of Defense announced a $536 million contract award to Lockheed Martin for F-22 sustainment services. The funding comes from a performance-based logistics (PBL) contract covering weapon systems sustainment of the F-22 fleet at all operational bases during 2017, the manufacturer said.

Lockheed Martin provides F-22 sustainment through a PBL contract and a weapons management program called “Follow-on Agile Sustainment for the Raptor,” or FASTeR. “This contract is a vital part of keeping the combat Raptor fleet in fighting form,” said Ken Merchant, Lockheed Martin F-22 program vice president. “Our collaborative partnership with the Air Force and our industry partners ensures that our warfighters get the critical capabilities they need to accomplish their missions.”

F-22s are currently deployed to the Middle East where they are supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.