All platforms carry out servicings/maintenance in IAW the Master Maintenance Manual (5A1), the Design Authorities carry out reviews on a regular basis using historical data to change item servicing/maintenance frequencies, remove items that had an overhaul life and make them 'on condition', remove items completely, these all reduce the length of the servicings/maintenance. Equally some items that have shown to fail before their Mean Time Before Failure(MTBF) rate, or more frequently than tests showed when manufactured, then these are added to the 5A1. These reductions happen over the life of an aircraft and are not dictated by the customer to make up for manpower shortages. I accept that at a local level if this drop is because local RAF management/IPTs have agreed to extend items of the servicings/maintenance on a regular basis and Lim/ADF them, then this amount of reduction should not be allowed, additionally the civvies have no say over what is, or is not, added to the LIMs/ADFs, this is down to the applicable IPT (civvie contractor can request, but cannot just do it).
For the servicings/maintenance being carried out in Afghanistan and Iraq, this will more likely be due to Contingency Servicing (CTY). Next to some items in the 5A1 there is appended CTY, these equate to the minimum servicing/maintenance requirements while in a war zone and these would, approximately, account for those sort of percentage drops in the times. If the guys are able to do more at any given time they can, like ADFs/Lims/mods/EIs, this reduction has not got anything to do with manpower availability it is all to do with maximising aircraft availablity.
Last edited by Exrigger; 18th Jul 2007 at 17:25.
Reason: Read article properly, amended text accordingly