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Navy Investigates Advanced CPC with Long-Lasting Protection

By Ben Craig

Corrosion preventative compounds (CPCs) have earned respect for protecting metals against corrosion. In some applications they have one shortcoming, however. Many CPCs must be reapplied every few months in order to remain effective. The Navy and Marine Corps maintain aircraft and vehicles that have internal corrosion protection needs that would be best met through the use of CPCs if they didn’t require frequent reapplication.

Thus far, during the evaluation period, Navguard has been tested on 17 F/A-18 "Hornet" fighter/attack aircraft, five EA-6B radar-jamming "Prowlers," and four H-46 "Sea Knight" helicopters used by the Navy and Marine Corps.

To reduce maintenance costs, the Navy grew interested in finding CPCs that could last for at least two years before they had to be reapplied. In response to this need, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Materials Engineering Division developed an advanced, high-performance CPC named Navguard. It is capable of lasting much longer than CPCs currently in use.

Navguard was the product of an Office of Naval Research Future Naval Capabilities Total Ownership Cost project. The product has met or exceeded all requirements of a key military specification for corrosion preventative compounds (MIL-PRF-81309 Type II).

Navguard is a foggable, water-displacing CPC that is made with low volatile-organic compound materials. It is compatible with metal and non-metal components. The Navy Environmental Health Center has deemed the CPC safe to use for internal aircraft applications.

The Navy put Navguard through laboratory and "lead-the-fleet" testing, where it was categorized as exhibiting superior corrosion resistance. Then, using funds from the DoD Office of Corrosion Policy and Oversight and NAVAIR, the Navy continues to evaluate the CPC to substantiate its performance in areas where naval aircraft fly. Thus far, during the evaluation period, Navguard has been tested on 17 F/A-18 "Hornet" fighter/attack aircraft, five EA-6B radar-jamming "Prowlers," and four H-46 "Sea Knight" helicopters used by the Navy and Marine Corps.

Since the Army and the Marine Corps are also interested in the product, Navguard is being tested on one H-60 Black Hawk helicopter and eight Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles. Field-testing is still underway. The field performance of all aircraft and vehicles has been tracked for more than two years and is being compared to control aircraft without any Navguard.

By applying the advanced CPC the Navy expects to increase the fleetís readiness and realize significant cost savings. Using this product also eliminates unnecessary maintenance steps because it extends the time in between re-applications, which reduces costs. In addition, the volume of CPCs used for maintaining these assets will be reduced, which lowers material costs.