New matting system to improve deployment capability

Published Feb. 11, 2008
By Pete Meltzer, Jr.
AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Engineers at the Air Force Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing Directorate here, working with Webcore Technologies, Inc., located in Dayton, Ohio, have made significant advancements developing a super-strong, lightweight composite airfield matting that speeds-up forward aircraft deployments, expands parking space, and reduces costs.

The new, next generation matting system touts a 36 percent weight reduction over extruded aluminum (AM-2 panels) currently in use, and has twice the operational life. The new matting system will allow the Air Force to deploy aircraft more rapidly by expanding parking aprons and connecting taxiways and maintenance areas considerably faster due to the system's inherent light weight, simple connection method, and optimized shipping size.

Several years of extensive testing and analysis have effectively demonstrated that the new system meets the loading and weight requirements. Efforts are under way to further improve system performance.

"The new panels are easier to connect, install, and replace," stated Dean Foster, lead project engineer. "The composite airfield matting system would significantly improve contingency operations capability by providing a means for rapidly increasing airfield utility at all types of airfields worldwide. It would enable the mobilization of warfighting equipment, combat and support personnel, and supplies airlift to forward operating locations faster, in greater numbers, and at less cost."

In actuality, the ability to respond quickly and decisively anywhere in the world relies on a myriad of combat support activities that occur on the ground. Typical deployments to remote locations require a large number of aircraft sorties to transport equipment, personnel, and supplies. As a military operation intensifies, the available taxiways, parking space, and aircraft maintenance areas are quickly exhausted.

Department of Defense officials estimate that there are more than 1,200 airfields worldwide for potential use during contingency operations. Conditions range from extremely austere dirt strips to commercial airports to fixed military installations. Parking aprons at many of these potential airfields are not adequate to support large contingency operations. This problem is further complicated because the soil types at many sites are unknown, Mr. Foster said.

"Airfields are typically broken down into four categories: expedient airfields, temporary airfields, semi-permanent airfields, and main operating bases or commercial airfields," he said. "A wide variety of fields are used during contingency operations, including airfields in austere or underdeveloped locations. These airfields are selected primarily on proximity to the theater of operations and not necessarily on their condition. As a result, they often require improvements and/or expansion to meet mission requirements.

"A major tool in assessing airfield capabilities is called Maximum on Ground (MOG)," Mr. Foster continued. "The two categories of MOG are parking and working requirements. The parking MOG refers to the number of aircraft that can be parked at an airfield, and depends on the specific mission. Bare base planning, for example, calls for a specific area per aircraft according to aircraft type. The working MOG is dependent on the available parking space, the size and type of crews, and the equipment available to service those aircraft. Working MOG has significant impact on the overall speed at which a bare base can be established."

Composite materials are as much as 10 times stronger than conventional matting, but weigh considerably less. Composite airfield matting would significantly advance the Air Force's ability to undertake contingency operations from bare bases and austere airfields, thus having an immediate and positive impact on mission success, Mr. Foster said.

"Continued research and development efforts will likely produce additional improvements by further reducing the composite panel's weight and/or increasing its load-bearing performance," he added.