The Air Force will replace the upper pressure
garment vest valve. Additional measures to
improve airflow include the April decision to
remove the C2A1 filter, which was previously
used to test for contaminants in the cockpit, as
well as future efforts to explore improving the
oxygen delivery hose and its physical
connections, he said.
"We have a deliberate plan underway now both to
modify that equipment, to test that equipment
under the most demanding conditions, and that
will begin to hit the field in September,"
Schwartz said. "Given the limitations the
Secretary of Defense has imposed until those
improvements are fielded, we are confident that
we have managed the risk associated with
continuing operations in the F-22."
Schwartz said the Air Force will continue
updating Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to
demonstrate the results of the improvements. In
May, Panetta directed the Air Force to limit all
F-22 flights to remain near potential landing
locations to enable quick recovery and landing
should a pilot encounter oxygen deprivation. The
secretary also directed the Air Force to
expedite the installation of an automatic backup
oxygen system in all of the planes, and he asked
for monthly progress reports as the service
continued the search for the root cause of the
problem.
These actions were in addition to steps the Air
Force already was taking to determine the root
causes of the hypoxia-like symptoms that some
pilots experienced. Following an Air
Force briefing last week, Panetta decided to
gradually lift restrictions on the aircraft. He
authorized the Air Force to deploy a
squadron-sized element of F-22s to Kadena Air
Base, Japan, via the Northern Pacific transit
route, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little
briefed reporters earlier in the day.
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