Xsight, the Israeli manufacturer of foreign objects detection (FOD) systems, sees air force customers as a big potential market in the coming years.
The company’s FODetect system is already operational at Boston’s Logan airport in the USA, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi international airport in Thailand, Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France, and Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport in Israel.
Xsight chief executive Alon Nitzan says indications show that 30% of sales in the coming years will be made to air force customers. “The FOD problem is very acute in a base that operates fighter aircraft, many with one engine,” he says. “The detection of objects on the runway is part of the base’s operational readiness.”
The U.S. Air Force are always happy to report their FOD stats, and this is no exception:
(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Peter Thompson/ Released)
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – The 7th Bomb Wing is in a constant battle to eliminate foreign object debris from the flight line, and is winning, with more than 975 consecutive days of FOD-free incidents.
Every time I read about a FOD walk I’m always amazed at how much stuff they find (usually the Air Force are happy to write about what they find).
To show the importance of conducting a FOD walk, Hood, Sigala and Llerena coordinated a base-wide FOD walk. Each of the classes — more than 100 airmen from the 571st MSAS and Honduran Air Force — participated and collected more than 50 pounds of FOD from the flightline.
It appears as though plastic grocery bags are not only a threat to the environment, but also to military jets. There’s an interesting article at the US Air Force in Europe site on the damage to aircraft that can be caused by plastic bags, the threat is so great that the Air Force have been issuing free reusable bags to Airmen and their families.
by Staff Sgt. Daryl Knee, 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
The 52nd Fighter Wing’s foreign object damage manager, in collaboration with base civilian agencies, provided free reusable grocery bags to Airmen and their families at the Spangdahlem Commissary Nov. 15 in an effort to enhance recognition of the dangers loose debris has on the base’s flying mission.
“It only takes one grocery bag to damage a jet,” said Master Sgt. Matthew LaNew, FOD manager. “The agencies on base have donated thousands of reusable grocery bags to get people in the mindset that loose bags truly are a FOD hazard.” (more…)
Three Team Holloman members came across a blown tire, and dealt with the incident quickly, potentially saving valuable Air Force assets.
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Thanks to the quick actions of three Team Holloman members, a foreign object debris issue was handled before any Holloman asset was compromised…….
“We were at the right place at the right time,” said Mr. Vaughus. “Someone’s life could’ve been at stake and possibly our own if it didn’t get cleaned up. It could’ve gotten ugly, so we did what we were supposed to do.”
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Reservists from the 920th Rescue Wing Maintenance Group are charged with not only maintaining life-saving aircraft here, but also saving millions of dollars in equipment damage with a few simple steps.
Commercial airports very rarely seem to publicise any real data on FOD damage or FOD finds, the Military on the other hand are always keen to report the results of their FOD walks. An article in Aerotech News describes the efforts of the staff at the March Air Reserve Base (map).
During the quarter ending Dec 2010, FOD incidents caused over $21,000 in repair costs to our aircraft here at home station, not to mention, perhaps, some tense moments for our aircrews.
The article goes on to show an image of some damaged fan blades, and to thank those involved in their efforts towards improving air safety.
Your assistance last week is greatly appreciated and has made a difference. The first photo is of one of the engines on our aircraft that had a recent encounter with foreign objects on takeoff last month.
They found 32 pounds of material during their FOD walk! Check out the article and see the images at aerotechnews.com.
This article appeared on the San Diego Business Journal website yesterday. It’s a good piece that describes the FOD Finder system from Trex. It describes the current installs, the costs of the system and the amount of FOD found when the system was used at the Yuma Marine base (map). It also highlights the fact that the system can be leased on a monthly basis (this is an advantage over fixed systems where the cost of installation would make any short term leasing impractical), which is a great idea for those airports that are reluctant to purchase new technology.
The machine costs $400,000, he said, adding that airports can lease it for $12,000 to $15,000 per month. Bishop said airports often see a return on their investment in less than 60 days.
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Reservists from the 
