Challenge
To ensure C-130 availability, the 302d Airlift Wing must protect its aircraft from all environmental conditions that may affect its readiness. With many previously deployed aircraft now stationed at US bases, hanger capacity is very limited. Often, aircraft are left on the flightline, risking damage from storms and foreign object debris. The cost of unplanned hail damage can be extraordinary. The unique weather conditions in Colorado Springs, CO. subject the aircraft to unanticipated torrential hailstorms.
In early 2025, a hailstorm causing $10 million in damage to 6 of 7 C130s at Peterson Space Force Base, (PSFB) resulted in those aircraft being unavailable to help combat the massive fires that destroyed swaths of Southern California resulting in loss of life and property.
Peterson Space Force Base called on Ehmke Manufacturing as a sole-source solution to provide the design, engineering, fabrication and installation of an original protection system to cover all horizontal surfaces of the C-130 aircraft, protecting it from hail and FOD impact.
Requirements set forth by PSFB required an engineered solution designed with tight tolerances, including materials that perform under extreme temperatures, are highly abrasion-proof, and able to deflect 2” diameter hail stones. Performance specifications included deployment of the protection system with 4 individuals in 2 hours or less without the use of overhead cranes or the access to walk on top of the aircraft. Peterson Space Force Base tasked Ehmke with the development of an innovative new solution never fielded before.
