U.S. Air Force plans one of the oldest maintenance tasks

The U.S. Air Force is modernizing one of its oldest and toughest maintenance tasks—inspecting and repairing fuel tanks inside aging refueling aircraft like the KC-135 Stratotanker, a job that for decades has forced technicians into dark, cramped, jet-fume-filled spaces with flashlights and radios. It’s slow, physically demanding, and hazardous. To improve this, the Air Force and partners MetroStar and ActionStreamer developed the Integrated Respirator Information System (IRIS), a wearable system that mounts a high-definition camera, lights, and two-way audio onto technicians’ respirator gear. IRIS streams live video to a mobile workstation outside the tank, so supervisors and experts can see exactly what the technician sees, talk them through work, and verify tasks without re-entering the tank. At RAF Mildenhall in England, where the system is being tested, maintainers quickly shifted from skepticism to regular use because it makes work safer, clearer, and faster. The solution also uses AI tools to help organize images and data and reduce administrative paperwork, letting technicians focus on core tasks. Early results show inspections running around 60% faster with no reported safety incidents, and if IRIS is expanded Air Force-wide, it could save around 35,000 maintainer hours and add roughly 7,000 aircraft availability days annually by reducing delays and improving overall efficiency.