The Navy’s Common Aviation Support Equipment program office (PMA-260) recently completed the Crash and Salvage Crane (CSC) Maintainability Demonstration (MDEMO) at the Fleet Readiness Center (FRC) Norfolk, Virginia on February 3rd. This milestone in the acquisition process ensured that the new crane is sustainable, maintainable, and ready for reliable operation in the Fleet. The demonstration also verified the Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) for Intermediate Level maintenance is within the required and specified limits.
CSCs are critical pieces of equipment because no flight operations are allowed on ships without an operational CSC running on standby. They are used for lifting and moving disabled aircraft on aircraft carriers and landing helicopter dock ship flight decks. These new versions, designed by industry partner Allied Systems Company, replace the legacy carrier and amphibious assault crash cranes that were designed decades ago and have been a workhorse in the Fleet for many years, having exceeded their anticipated life expectancy. The legacy CSCs have become increasingly difficult to maintain due to obsolescence issues. The new variants correct those deficiencies and are much easier to maintain.
During the MDEMO, Fleet sailors from two aircraft carriers removed and replaced 30 components while performing unscheduled maintenance tasks following the technical manual instructions. The event’s success supports progression into production of the cranes for delivery to the Fleet.
“The new CSC design will ensure the warfighter has the safest, most modern, maintainable, and reliable equipment possible for years to come, and we are looking forward to bringing this improved capability to the Fleet,” said Capt. Robert Burgess, PMA-260 program manager.
The new CSCs are on track to deliver to the Fleet in February 2024.