Air Force field testing new protective mask

The U.S. Air Force completed field testing last month of an improved chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) protective mask for crews on rotary wing aircraft.

The Joint Service Aircrew Mask – Rotary Wing replaces the Aircrew Eye and Respiratory Protection system on HH-60G Pave Hawk and UH-1N Huey aircraft. It provides improved protection while integrating with night vision goggles and an enhanced field of view.

The new mask has a removable faceplate, a battery life six times longer than the old system, a five-fold increase in fit factor, and requires no aircraft modification.

“Most importantly, it provides our warfighter added protections and combat capabilities,” said Dr. Mohamed Mughal, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s CBRN Defense Systems Branch chief engineer. “But it also highlights the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s mission to partner with organizations outside the Air Force. This joint service program required us to team with our counterparts in the Army, the Navy and the Marines to derive and balance system requirements that met all services’ mission profiles. Despite the challenges, we succeeded. System acquisition truly is a team sport.”

More than a dozen airbases around the world have already received mask delivery from the Air Force, Mughal said.

Fielding teams from the joint program executive office for CBRN defense and Air Combat Command have trained aircrew flight equipment (AFE) personnel on maintenance checks and services for the mask and have also trained aircrew in proper wear and use of the mask. They have currently trained approximately 100 AFE personnel and 75 aircrew.