In the early hours of 4 March 2025, severe thunderstorms swept across the Dallas‑Fort Worth area, spawning large hail, violent wind gusts and tornado warnings. At Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW), a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III from the 445th Airlift Wing was parked overnight when wind microbursts approaching 80 mph swept the airfield. Two privately owned Bombardier Challenger business jets broke free and were blown into the much larger military transport, smashing into the left side of the aircraft and damaging its access door, fuselage and nose section.
Although the jet remained flyable, it was not mission‑ready. A temporary repair allowed the aircraft to fly back to Wright‑Patterson AFB in Ohio with its landing gear locked down for the entire flight. Once home, maintenance crews repaired the door and fuselage, but the nose panel proved a far greater challenge.
Boeing determined that no supplier was willing to manufacture the single replacement panel because producing the specialised tooling for one isolated component made no commercial sense. A repair attempt also failed, leaving the prospect of a year‑plus wait for a solution followed by another year of work—an outcome the 445th Airlift Wing deemed unacceptable.
Instead of accepting a prolonged grounding, the 445th Maintenance Group turned to the Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO) and its Automation and Robotics team. They proposed using Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF), a robotic metal‑forming process that gradually reshapes a flat sheet without dedicated tooling, making it ideal for unique or extremely low‑volume parts.
Working with engineers from the University of Dayton Research Institute, the RSO began manufacturing the replacement panel in January 2026. The panel proceeded from robotic forming to structural testing and repeated fit checks, receiving approval for installation after a final fit assessment in April.
The panel was installed and the C‑17 returned to flight. This marks the first time a component produced using the Air Force’s ISF technology has flown on an operational aircraft, offering a potential solution to the sustainment problem faced by ageing military fleets when original parts are no longer available.
