Innovative strategies to protect fighter jets from wild bird damage

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Fluctus channel. Humans mastered the art of flying early in the 20th century, but as soon as we were in the skies, we realized that birds were also there. Bird strikes were common with propeller aircraft, but only in the jet age did the problem present itself at its worst. Pilot Eugene Eli lost his life in 1911, when a civil aircraft was involved in the first bird strike that was known to cause a crash. Bird strikes happened suddenly and at low altitudes, giving pilots less time to respond. Between 1985 and 2016, 36 U.S. airmen lost their lives due to bird strikes. 27 aircraft were destroyed and cost the U.S. Air Force close to a billion dollars. Therefore, the U.S. Air Force is trying various means to keep their air bases and runways clear of birds, especially at low levels. One such system is used in a base with one of the largest bird populations in the USA. As a small base, JBSA Randolph faces significant challenges due to the presence of trees. Tree City USA is a fitting moniker for this verdant metropolis. The risk of bird strikes is increased since the trees attract a significant number of birds. Randolph employed Mike Pacheco, an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture, to ensure that the flight line remained free of birds. His approach is a multi-pronged one. At Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, another USDA Wildlife Services representative, Benjamin Allen, is part of the Bird Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard, or BASH, program. Allen helps to keep the airbase clear of birds, using systems where he makes it uncomfortable for the birds to be there. And if all else fails, the birds are removed by lethal means. We do several different techniques to keep the aircraft from striking and or ingesting any kind of wildlife out here, hazing, harassing, trapping, and sometimes lethal removal if all other techniques aren't useful. Another method is to use the natural predators of the birds against them. At the Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania, which is the location of fighter jets involved in the Baltic Air Policing Mission of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Polish falconer, Maciej Bien, along with his falcons and hawks, is the individual responsible for suppressing wild birds. Discover the fascinating story of Maciej and discover the characteristics of his birds that make them ideal for the task at hand. Maciej Bien can regularly be seen flying his falcons and hawks to keep the air base clear of wild birds. At bases such as Ellsworth Air Force Base, a system utilizing propane, which is set alight, to create bangs is being used. The bird cannon system is mostly automated, and running costs are not as high as repairing or replacing aircraft, or even pilots. After the initial cost of installing the bird cannon, the system has proven cheap to operate annually, making it a cost-effective system. Daily it keeps making loud bangs and scaring the birds away during critical moments. Bird strikes are even more dangerous for single-engine aircraft. A video shows a military training jet interacting with a bird just before flying into a Lake Worth neighborhood in September 2021. On the first anniversary of the disaster, the Chief of Naval Air Training published the cockpit video. The Navy T-45C was on a routine training flight when it collided with a huge bird while descending about a mile north of Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth. In the footage, one of the pilots can be heard uttering an expletive before the cockpit alarms sound. Because of the dangers of bird strikes, aircraft are designed to withstand them. As part of the design process, bird strike tests are run. Using specialized air guns, this test simulates bird strikes by launching dead birds at high speeds. These air cannons use high-pressure air to achieve speeds that simulate real-world bird strike circumstances seen during flight. The test begins with placing a dead bird, usually weighing around 4 pounds, into a specially built sabot, which is then loaded into an air cannon. The cannon is pointed at the airplane canopy, which is firmly attached to a test rig. During the test, high-speed cameras and sensors record the impact to collect precise information about the damage and stress distribution throughout the canopy. Engineers use this data to measure the canopy's strength and ability to survive such collisions while maintaining pilot safety. More examples of bird repelling are still used at Geneva Airport in Switzerland. One of the methods used is the placement of spikes all over areas where the presence of birds and their nests could lead to dangerous bird strikes. To encourage birds to nest elsewhere at Geneva Airport, artificial nesting boxes for house martins and common swifts were installed some distance from the runway. This has decreased bird-related dangers and contributed to the survival of these protected species. The existence of grasslands near airports creates a fertile environment for wildlife, such as buzzards, falcons, kites, and other birds of prey, making it an appealing hunting field. Keeping the grass as thick as possible can help restrict their presence. Let's take a look at how they do it at the Royal Netherlands Air Force's Gilrejen Air Base, which is one of the largest clients of the Robben anti-bird radar system. The radar has a range of several hundred meters, so you can see everything better than with binoculars. The system shows the entire airfield and surrounding area, including the movements of birds over the runway. They utilize this information to track bird behavior throughout the seasons, reducing aviation safety hazards. The radar is one of the few devices that works in three dimensions, allowing them to capture the bird's location as well as their height. This is extremely important to the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Birdwatchers utilize this information to intervene directly when necessary. This system helps to organize and execute activities to repel birds, making aircraft operations safe. Lasers are another means of controlling birds at airbases and airports. The AeroLaser handheld is used to prevent bird strikes at Frankfurt Airport. They ensure that nature, airport movements, and air traffic coexist peacefully. Frankfurt Airport is surrounded by a natural preserve, forests, a river, and two lakes. It also has the region's largest uncultivated grassland. The abundance of food, shelter, and nesting opportunities attracts a wide range of bird species. Their ecological policy attempts to make life tough for undesired birds. When biological measures fail, they use other bird control tools, such as fireworks, shotguns, and loudspeakers, In addition to the AeroLaser, the bird control group teaches employees to use the AeroLaser, which is effective at long distances, 300 to 600 meters, and contains a horizon safety system to prevent blindness. AeroLaser reduces intervention times and can silently repel birds from runways. It is especially efficient against ground-dwelling birds, such as herons, starlings, and pigeons, ensuring secure airfield operations while minimizing disturbances. Until technological advancement presents us with a foolproof method of repelling birds, systems from loud sounds to birds of prey and lasers will have to do. Radars for birds offer some warning and contribute to understanding the bird life around airbases better. Currently, there is not a single effective method. The best way is to utilize a variety of means to keep birds away from aircraft. That's the end of this video. I hope you enjoyed it. Make sure to subscribe to this channel so you don't miss any of our new content. See you next time!